A Second Chance
by Arwennicole
Summary: Sequel to: At the Beginning. A thousand years passed since Queen Beryl destroyed the peace and killed the ten Warriors and Sailor Scouts who were unprepared for such a war. Will these five soul mates find each other again before the evil comes back? Or will Beryl and Meratia win again?
1. Chapter 1

A Second Chance

By

Nicole

**Summary: A thousand years passed since Queen Beryl destroyed the peace and killed the ten Warriors and Sailor Scouts who were unprepared for such a war. Will these five soul mates find each other again before the evil comes back? Or will Beryl and Meratia win again?**

A Second Chance

Chapter 1: Stuck in the Rain

In an examination room at a clinic sat a young man with short blue hair, a few locks hanging over his eyes, while the rest of his hair was being held up with a headband around his head. He had on a pair of sneakers, blue jeans, and a dark blue zip up sweater. On his left arm was a white cast. He was waiting patiently for the doctor while there was a figure standing in the corner.

There was another young man with blond hair, a lock of it fell over his right eye, but the blue haired teenager could see the anger in the indigo colored eye he could see. He had on a pair of black shoes, khakis pants, a light green t-shirt, and a navy blue jacket.

Rowen Hashiba was tracing over the linings of his cast, trying not to look at his best friend, Sage Date. "Sage, will you knock it off already?" Rowen demanded

"How about telling the truth for once in your life?" Sage answered

Rowen shot his friend a glare. "This isn't your concern," he muttered, "You just had to drop me off you didn't have to come in here."

"Why? I'll be sitting in the waiting room of the emergency room again in a few weeks," Sage answered.

The blue haired teen shot his friend another glare before the door opened. "Hello, hello," the doctor greeted, "Rowen and Sage, how are you boys doing today?"

"Could be better," Sage answered.

"I'm must ready to get this cast off," Rowen commented.

Dr. Kimura chuckled lightly. "Of course, you know, Rowen, if you would stop with your daredevil ideas I wouldn't have to remove so many casts," he commented. Sage just rolled his eyes, staring out the window while the doctor and the technician removed the cast on the teen's arm.

After the appointment, the two friends walked over to Sage's car. "Sage, do me a favor," Rowen told him.

"What?" Sage asked.

"Don't try lecturing me about being honest about anything. Have you spoken to Lita yet?" he asked.

Sage stared at him with a glare. Lita was his best friend that moved in with him and his family when she was five after her parents were killed in a tragic plane crash. The blond teen opened the door to his car. "What I'm going through at home is nothing compared to what you're going through," Sage answered, "And the fact you're lying about it." Rowen glared at him as he slammed the door closed to Sage's car and then turned on his heel. "Where are you going?" Sage demanded.

"Somewhere that's not sitting in a car with you," Rowen answered.

"You're running because you know I'm right when I keep saying that if you keep defending your dad I'm going to be identifying a dead body than picking up my best friend from the emergency room!" Sage called out to him.

Sage shook his head slowly before he got into his car and drove off.

Rowen walked up the steps to the library, letting out a deep breath as he opened the door and went inside. He could hear thunder rolling in the distance. He pushed his hair from his eyes before he went over to his favorite part of the library and grabbed a book. Sitting a table he opened it and started to read.

As the rain started to fall and the thunder began to rumble, Rowen just sat at his table with his book. Hearing the door open to the library, he looked up and his heart literally stopped in his chest.

A girl with knee-length blond hair in pigtails, two buns on the top of her head, wearing loafers, knee high socks, and a school uniform rushed in completely soaked to the bone. She was shivering from the fact it was raining outside, but he could see that her eyes were red from crying.

Getting up from his chair, he made his way over to her. "Hey," he called to her quietly, making her look up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just…silly me got stuck in the rain," she answered, sniffing.

Thinking quickly, Rowen grabbed his jacket that was hanging off the back of the chair and wrapped it around her, rubbing her arms to warm her up. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Here, sit down," he answered in a whisper to not disturb the library.

She sat down, still sniffling when he grabbed a tissue box from a desk. "You're so sweet, I don't even know your name," she said in a whisper.

"I'm Rowen," he answered, holding his hand out to her.

The girl smiled as she slipped her hand into his and the young man froze when he felt a shock rush up his arm. "I'm Serena," she said softly.

Arriving home, Sage was sitting in the driveway staring at his parents' house. Frowning, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the steering wheel. "What a nightmare," he muttered under his breath. He jumped when he heard a knock on his window and saw his best friend, Lita, standing there with a smile on her face.

She had chocolate brown hair tied up in a high ponytail, emerald green eyes, she had on a pair of white tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a white long-sleeved shirt. She was just grinning at him. "Are you going to come in or stay in there all night?" she quipped her slight husky voice.

Sage just smirked as he opened the door, getting out. He took the umbrella from her hand, covering them both from the rain. "How did it go with Rowen?" she asked.

"Same old, running away instead of facing his dad again," he replied.

She let out a sigh, shaking her head slowly. "Hey, Lita," he called to her, making her stop and look at him, "Can I talk to you later? It's kind of important."

"Sure, you know it," she answered before they went into the house.

They removed their shoes by the door and Sage hung up his jacket while Lita put the umbrella away. "Dinner's ready you two," Mrs. Date told the two of them. Sage had Lita go first and followed behind her.

They were sitting at the table and Sage was filling his plate with food. "Smells good," he commented.

"Lita made all of it," Mrs. Date said smiling.

Sage gave his friend a smile. "Then I know it'll be good," he answered. Lita smiled, then everyone fell silent as they were eating the meal.

"This is good," Mr. Date commented.

Sage saw his mother's eyes shine as she looked at Lita. "Now I know we made the right decision," she answered. Lita furrowed her brow curiously.

"Decision?" she asked.

Sage's face paled. "Mom, don't," he insisted. Lita looked around the table confused.

"Am I missing something?" she asked.

"You haven't told her yet?" Mr. Date demanded.

"You guys just told me this morning…I really hadn't had a chance to tell her," Sage answered.

Lita began to feel frustrated. "Tell me what? What's going on?" she demanded. Mrs. Date stared at the young woman.

"We have arranged it so when you and Sage are ready, you two are going to be married," she answered smiling as if this were the greatest news in the world.

Lita's mouth almost hit the table and Sage put his head in his hands. "Married?!" she exclaimed, standing up from her chair, "But…but…but Sage and I are only 16!"

"That's why we said when you two are ready," Mrs. Date answered.

Lita looked over at Sage. "You knew about this?" she asked.

"They literally told me when I got up this morning I hadn't…" he started to say when Lita pushed her chair back.

"Excuse me," she murmured before walking away.

Sage looked at his parents. "Well…that went well," he muttered.

"If you had told her ahead of time this wouldn't have been such a shock," Mrs. Date stated.

"Mom…you told me when I got up this morning, I'm still trying to digest what you guys did!" he answered.

"Don't shout at your mother," Mr. Date scolded his son.

Sage stared at his parents, standing up. "Where are you going?" Mr. Date demanded.

"To find my fiancé I guess," he replied as he tossed his napkin on the table and went to find Lita.

Lita was sitting outside, not caring that it was raining and thundering outside. "Lita!" Sage called out.

"You stay away from me!" she snapped as she got up and went to walk away.

Sage went after her. "Lita! I just found out this morning, I swear! I was going to tell you but my parents didn't give me a chance," he insisted when thunder rumbled over their heads.

"I don't want this, you're my best friend Sage and I love you as such but I can't do this. I can't get married when I haven't even graduated school!" she exclaimed.

Sage stared at her as Lita stared at him. "It's never going to happen is it? My dreams of owning my own restaurant and cooking my own recipes will never happen now will it? Your family expects me to just smile and nod as I get married at 16?" she demanded, "My life is over before it's even begun!"

"Hey!" he answered, grabbing her arm when she went to run away.

Lita tried to shove his hand off her arm, but he held onto her other wrist with his other hand. "Lita, I promise you that this doesn't change your dreams. Even if it means I make the money working three jobs I will send you to school. You will own your own restaurant," he assured her.

The young woman felt like her whole world was crumbling around her and she sat on the ground trying to regain her sanity. "Sage…what do we do?" she asked. Sage sat beside her on the ground.

"Well, we could get out of the rain," he answered, making her roll her eyes and shoved him.

Standing up, he held his hand out to her but Lita just stood up without his help. "Listen, Li. I promise you that I will do whatever I can to make you happy," he told her. He held onto her hands as she stared at him. "You're my best friend, my wish is to make you happy," he added, "And we will make this work." Smiling softly, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sage felt relief as she hugged him. He lifted her up off the ground as he held her close. Setting her back down, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. She smiled softly as they went back to the house to cope with the news that whether they liked it or not, they were going to get married. They might as well try to make the best of it.


	2. Something More?

Chapter 2: Something More?

A girl with waist length black hair, brown eyes, wearing sandals, and temple robes was cleaning the temple when a big white tiger trotted in. She smiled as she reached out, touching the tiger's head. "Hey, White Blaze, how are you doing today boy?" she asked. The tiger nuzzled her waist, making her smile. She walked outside to sweep some more, but feeling slightly tired she walked over to her favorite tree and sat down.

"You work too hard," a voice commented.

Opening her eyes, she let out a scream when she was suddenly looking into a pair of tiger blue eyes. A boy with shoulder-length jet-black hair, the tiger blue eyes, wearing sneakers, blue jeans, and a light blue and tan sweater was hanging upside down from the tree. "All work no play makes Rei a dull girl," he quipped.

"And what does that make you, Ryo? I thought you were at soccer practice?" she asked.

"Yeah…two hours ago," he replied.

"Then why weren't you here helping me with chores?" she demanded.

Ryo stared at her with a raise brow. "And since when did I care about doing chores?" he asked. Rei glared at him before she shoved him hard enough that he let out a shout and fell out of the tree. Jumping back to his feet, he went after her. "Come on, Rei, lighten up a little. You're too serious," he insisted as he walked in front of her.

"Someone has to be serious around here when you just run off with your friends every day," she said rolling her eyes.

"No thank you, I have a lot of work to do, Ryo!" she answered, "Not everything can be fun."

"You don't have any fun!" he snapped at her, "Jeez sorry I asked!"

Rei swung around and stormed away while Ryo just shook his head slowly. "She needs to lighten up, come on boy let's go," he told his tiger as they left to head out on the town.

Ever since he was a child, Ryo lived in the temple with Rei and her grandfather. His mother had passed away giving birth to him while his father was killed during an expedition in the jungle since he was a photo journalist.

When Ryo was five and his grandparents passed away, he was going to be sent into an orphanage and White Blaze was going to be sent to the zoo. Thankfully for him, his little friend, Rei, ran to her grandpa and begged for him and White Blaze to stay at the temple. Her grandfather allowed it and it was a decision that was best for the now teenager.

Letting out a sigh, Ryo was halfway down the block when he looked back at the temple. He felt a nudge to the back of his knees and looked to see White Blaze staring at him. "I know, she drives me crazy but we do owe her a lot don't we?" he asked as they started walking back toward the temple.

Making his way up the stairs, he removed his sneakers and slipped on the slippers by the door when Rei's grandfather turned the corner. "You and Rei had another fight I see," he commented. Ryo cleared his throat.

"Yeah…kinda…" he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Her grandfather chuckled lightly as he looked at the teenager. "She is in her meditation room!" he told the boy before rushing off, "Come on, White Blaze, I'm sure you're hungry!" The tiger almost groaned as he followed the short old man through the temple. Smirking a little, Ryo looked towards Rei's meditation room.

Quietly, he opened the door and stepped inside. He could hear her chanting and made his way over to the fire, kneeling beside her.

Feeling a presence beside her, she cracked an eye open to see Ryo kneeling beside her quietly. "Come here to be of use?" she asked.

"Listen, Rei, I don't mean to leave you out if that's what upsets you," he answered.

"No, what upsets me is I do everything in this temple on my own and you just run off and do whatever," she muttered.

Ryo frowned as he stared into the fire in front of him. "Rei…we're 16, we're supposed to be able to go out and have fun. You don't do any of that, you're so wrapped up in trying to make things perfect. You're going to wake up one day an adult and your entire life is going to be gone," he explained.

"And when are you going to wake up and become responsible?" she asked.

Ryo felt his temper start to rise a little, but he fought it. "Your grandfather doesn't seem to have a problem with what I have done around here. You have to admit, Rei, I have done a lot around here too," he answered. Rei sighed, she had to admit, Ryo might not sweep up or leave his dirty clothes piled in the corner of his room, but he did do other things around the temple.

He always made sure that the roof was always in top shape, making sure nothing was out of place. He made sure she had enough kindling for her meditation room. If anything broke in the temple he was the first person on it to fix it, no matter what it was. She let out a sigh, looking over at him. "You have done a lot," she agreed.

"Then can you just cut me SOME slack?" he asked, "And Rei, you do so much. You're 16 and you walk around here like a mother hen."

"Someone has to take care of grandpa," she answered.

Ryo looked at her with a raised brow. "Then who takes care of you?" he asked, making her eyes go wide in surprise.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me," she answered, "I do just fine thank you."

Shaking his head slowly, he moved closer to her. Before she could react, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "If you need anything at all, Rei, seriously, you know where my room is," he answered. He got up and left the meditation room, leaving the girl there stunned by what he said.

That night, Rei was lying wake in her bed when she heard thunder rolling in the distance. Frowning, she winced when she heard another crack of thunder. Even as a little girl she despised thunderstorms, probably the fact that it was storming the night her parents died and then her grandpa came to get her. She always associated the storms to losing her parents and how frightening it was that it was a storm that made their car slip off the road.

Hearing another loud crash that was so loud that it actually shook the pictures hanging on her wall. Sitting up, she pulled off her covers and slipped her feet into her slippers. She quietly made her way down the hall, opening the door to Ryo's room. She quietly slid the door closed and walked over to Ryo. "Ryo?" she called quietly, biting her lower lip.

"Storm keeping you up?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

Ryo scooted over in his bed, lifting his covers so she could get in. She got into the bed as he pulled the blanket over both of them and she curled up next to him as his arm went around her back. "I've got you," he murmured. She snuggled into his bare chest, her cheeks flushing a little when she realized he was only wearing a pair of pajama pants.

His fingers traced over the ring on her right ring finger. "You never told me what that was," he murmured quietly. She rested her head on his pillow as her thumb traced the ring.

"It's been in my family for generations. It's supposed to go to the first girl in the family to give to the guy she wants to marry," she replied.

"A little small isn't it?" he quipped.

"The man normally wears it around his neck," she replied.

Ryo smiled a little when she jumped because of the storm. His arms immediately went around her, holding her closer to him. "Don't worry, Rei, I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered into her hair. Rei smiled, resting her head on his chest as sleep slowly claimed her. His heartbeat lulling her to sleep and Ryo joined her only minutes later in the land of slumber.

The next day, on the other side of Tokyo, a young man with shoulder-length auburn hair, sea green eyes, wearing a light blue and black wetsuit was surfing a big wave. His eyes glanced over to his left and he saw a girl sitting under a beach umbrella, all wrapped up in the book she was reading. She had short blue hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a light blue one piece.

He was so distracted by the girl he ended up falling off the board with a shout.

As if she heard him, she looked up and let out a gasp to see that the boy had disappeared. She rushed out into the water with fear in her blue eyes. "CYE?!" She called out fearfully. She let out a gasp and nearly fell backwards when her friend and the exchange student living in her home surfaced.

"I'm alright, Ami," He assured her smiling.

She flushed, sitting back on her blanket as he put his surfboard back into the sand and sat next to her. "What are you reading?" he asked. Looking over at the book. He smirked to see the title. "A medical book again?" he asked.

"What else?" she asked, "Oh! I got you something!"

"Really?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, that's why I was late meeting with you," she answered.

She reached into her beach bag, handing him a book. "Since you wanted to be a Marine Biologist," she said smiling.

"Wow, this'll be great, thanks!" he answered smiling.

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Realization hit him of what he did and his cheeks burned. Ami blushed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "So…classes are going to be ending soon…that means you'll be going back to England," she murmured. Cye suddenly felt disappointed at her point.

"Yeah…back to England," he answered.

"Aren't you excited to be going back home? Do you miss your mom and sister?" she asked.

Cye looked over at her. "I miss them," he replied, "But I'll miss you more when I go home." Ami looked at him surprised, her cheeks turning even redder.

"We should go home," she murmured.

Standing up, he held his hand out to her. Ami reached up, slipping her hand into his as he helped her up off the ground.

When they arrived back home, Cye watched as Ami went upstairs to her room and he rubbed the back of his neck as he went into the kitchen. Since Ami's mom was always working, it was normally just the two of them in the house. Her mother agreed to the program because she thought it would be nice to help another teenager expand their education and not only that so Ami would have a friend. They were quite surprised when they were matched with Cye.

He was welcomed warmly when he finally arrived in Tokyo. His natural British charm made it an easier transition for the teenagers. Not only that but Cye knew how and enjoyed cooking.

Ami walked into the kitchen to see Cye making some dinner. "Hungry?" he asked, "I made chicken parmesan."

"It smells incredible," she answered smiling.

Cye smiled as he placed a plate in front of her before heading towards his room so he could get a quick shower while she was eating.

After showering and changing, he made his way back into the kitchen and got his own his plate fixed and saw that Ami was reading again. He just smiled as he sat across from her and ate quietly. "Ami," he said suddenly, making her look up, "I don't want to go back." Amy looked at him surprised.

"But that's your home," she answered.

Cye pushed his dinner around on his plate. "It used to be…" he said quietly, "But things have changed." Ami looked at him, unsure of what to say. He let out a deep breath as he reached across the table and rested his hand over hers. "I want to be with you, Ami," he murmured. Ami felt her heart race as she gripped his hand tightly.

"You can't leave your life in England behind," she answered.

"I can finish the rest of my schooling here, then who knows what can happen," he said smiling softly.

Ami smiled back as she gripped his hand tightly. "I don't want you to leave either," she confessed. The two of them smiled at each other as they held each other's hands. Their fingers were entwined together and they both let out a gasp when they felt something rush up their arms. After the sensation went away, they went back to their dinners while holding hands the entire time.


	3. Changes in Life

Chapter 3: Changes in Life

In the arcade there was a young man with ash-colored hair, blue eyes, wearing sneakers, blue jeans, an orange sweater, and he had a yellow headband around his head. He was in the middle of a videogame. "Alright! Yea!" he said grinning. He was getting the high score to the new Sailor V game and he couldn't be anymore excited. "Soon my name will be at the top!" he exclaimed.

Just as he was about to beat the game, the screen turned black. "Huh? What the heck!" he exclaimed. Looking to his right he saw a girl standing there with the black chord in her hand.

She had waist-length blond hair, blue eyes, she was wearing white tennis shoes, blue jean shorts, a pink tank top, and a white over shirt. "Hey, what'd you do that for?" he demanded.

"You think I'd let you beat _my_ game?" she asked, raising her brow.

He reached up to grab the chord from her hand when she pulled it away from him. "Give it back," he told her.

"Make me," she answered, holding the chord behind her back.

He glared at her, becoming frustrated. "I'm not afraid to hit a girl," he stated confidently.

"I'm standing right here with my arms behind my back," she replied smirking at him.

She just smirked as he stared at her. "Stop grinning," he told her.

"You can't hurt me even if you tried," she answered.

Before she could react, he suddenly grabbed her around the waist and sung her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes and grabbed for the chord in her hand. "Give it!" he told her.

"No! Put me down you big buffoon!" she snapped hitting his back.

The manager of the arcade rushed over to them. "Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!" he shouted, making the two teenagers stop, "Sir, put her down and miss put the chord back in the wall and then I'm going to ask you to leave!"

"HE/SHE started it!" they shouted in unison.

"I don't care! Out!" he snapped, pointing to the door.

The young man sighed as he kicked a pebble after they left the arcade. "Great, now what?" he muttered. He glared at the blond girl.

"Thanks a lot Blondie!" he snapped.

"Oh hush you big Gorilla!" she spat.

"I got a name you know!" he answered.

"Do you even know how to spell your name let alone say it?" she asked as she walked by him.

He glared at her. "Oh you got jokes, Blondie? Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?" he demanded.

"Sure thing hot stuff what's the bet?" she demanded.

"Arcade tomorrow, you and me Sailor V game. Loser pays 20 bucks," he answered.

"And declares the winner as the greatest Sailor V player of all time," she put in.

He held out his hand. "You got a deal…" he said slowly wanting to learn her name.

"Mina, Hot Stuff," she answered, shaking his hand.

"It's Kento, Blondie," he told her.

She smirked before walking away when a white cat chased after her and jumped on her shoulder. He smirked as he turned on his heel and walked away.

The next day, the two of them were standing in front of the videogame. Kento glanced at her as he put the money in and the game started. They both started playing with all they had.

Kento glanced at her to see that Mina was really into the videogame. They were neck and neck when it came to the scores. They started attracting crowds.

The game went on for a long time, but then Kento just smirked he knew this game like the back of his hand he knew how to get to the high score. He glanced over at Mina and saw that she was growing frustrated. Letting out a deep breath, he just grinned as he purposely lost his game, declaring Mina the winner. "YES!" Mina shouted excitedly.

Kento just smirked as he reached into his wallet, handing her a 20. "Thank you!" she said triumphantly.

"I declare Mina the all-time winner to the Sailor V game!" he announced as he playfully bowed to the blond.

Mina just smiled as she patted his head. "I want a rematch," he told her with a smirk. She was shocked by what he said. "Hey, what are you doing now?" he asked.

"I was going to go home…" she said slowly.

"Why don't I buy you lunch?" he asked.

She looked at him surprised. "Really?" she asked.

"Hey, you're a Sailor V videogame champ, lemme buy you lunch," he replied as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leading her out of the arcade.

"Uh…sure," she said surprised as her cat followed them.

"Hey, cool cat," he commented as he picked him up, "I like the moon thing on his forehead."

The cat let out a loud meow, his big brown eyes going wide. "What's his name?" he asked.

"Artemis, his name is Artemis," she commented.

"Cool, hey, Arty," he told the cat, putting him on his shoulder.

Mina just smirked a little. She could see her cat glaring at her out of the corner of her eye and she had to swallow a giggle as they walked down the street. "Hey, why don't you come by my place sometime? I have to babysit normally at night so I think having some company that's older than 10 would be great," he commented as his arm went back around her shoulders.

"And do what?" she asked curiously.

"Play videogames, hang out, whatever," He replied.

"Are you asking me out?" she asked.

He stared at her with a shrug. "Call it what you want, babe," he said smiling as he took the cat handing him back to her. Mina held the cat in her arms as he went to walk away.

"Kento!" she called out, making him stop and turn around, "I would like that."

She walked over, taking a pen from her clutch she wrote her number on his arm. "Call me when you want to hang out," she said smiling before walking away. Kento watched her leave with a huge grin on his face.

Mina was flushing as she went towards her house. "Mina, you don't know that boy," Artemis told her.

"So? That's what dating is isn't it? Getting to know someone?" she asked.

"I have weird energy vibes off him don't you feel them?" he asked.

Mina stopped walking and looked at her cat. "I never noticed before…but he's so sweet. I know he let me win that game," she answered as she looked at Kento's retreating back. She frowned a little. "I don't think he'll hurt me, Artemis," she insisted as she kept walking back to her house.

On the other side of Tokyo, Rowen was sitting in the park with his head buried in a book when Sage walked over to his friend. "Hey, what's going on?" Sage asked straddling the bench, gripping his friend's shoulder. Rowen lowered his book and the blonde's eyes grew wide when he saw that the right part of Rowen's face was black and blue. "What the hell happened to you?!" he exclaimed, turning Rowen's head so he could get a better look.

"Got home after he did last night," was Rowen's only answer.

"What did he do beat you with a beer bottle?" Sage demanded.

"Just his fist," Rowen answered.

"That's it, I'm done," Sage told him, "Your dad's going to send your ass to the grave, Ro!"

Rowen hushed him. "Why don't you shout a little louder I don't think the mother with three kids on the other side of the park heard you!" he spat. Sage let out a frustrated breath as he grabbed his friend's arm, hauling off the bench and practically dragged him home.

Getting him inside, he made sure his mom couldn't see Rowen's face. "Rowen, I didn't know you were coming over today, dear," Mrs. Date commented.

"Hi, Mrs. Date, just going to help Sage study for Friday's test," He replied.

"That's good, are you staying for dinner today?" Mrs. Date asked.

"If I can?" he asked.

"You never have to ask, sweetheart," Mrs. Date assured him smiling before going back into the kitchen.

"We'll be upstairs, ma!" Sage called out before pulling Rowen up the stairs.

He made his way by his sister's room. "Sage?" Satsuki called out as she got off the bed.

"Not now, Satsuki," he answered.

Pulling Rowen into his room, he closed the door before Satsuki could come in. He had Rowen sit down and went into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Then remembering something, he rushed over to the door knowing Satsuki would still be there and opened it. "Hey, could you send Lita up here?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"Lita, go get Lita," he replied.

"Why…what's going on in there?" she asked trying to look inside.

"Nothing, just go downstairs and find Lita, please it's important," he answered.

Satsuki tried to look inside but her brother blocked the way. "_Please_," he insisted. She gave up trying to look and went to find Lita while Sage closed the door.

Walking back over to Rowen, he started examining his friend's injuries. "Does this hurt?" he asked, pressing into his side when he heard a loud hiss coming from his friend's mouth. Sage shook his head slowly.

"Sage, don't…" Rowen insisted when his friend pulled his shirt up to see the bruises covering his torso.

Sage felt nothing but anger begin to fill his being as he looked at Rowen's injuries. "Turn around," he ordered.

"No, I don't…" Rowen started to say when Sage forced him to turn around and looked at his back.

"These are kick marks," he muttered.

"He never…" Rowen started to say.

"He's kicking you now," Sage said angrily pulling the shirt back down.

Rowen sat down when there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, Sage was relieved to see that it was Lita. "Sage, what's going on Satsuki…" she started to say when he grabbed her arm pulling her into the room.

"What you're going to see you can't tell anyone alright?" he asked her.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Sage sighed as he moved out of her line of sight and she saw Rowen's beaten face. "Rowen!" she gasped, "What happened to you?!" Rowen glared at Sage who just stared back.

"Traitor," he muttered as Lita examined his bruised face.

"Who did this to you?" she demanded.

"No one, I fell off the ladder cleaning the gutter," he replied.

"Yeah you should see what the ladder did to his torso," Sage muttered.

Lita gripped the bottom of Rowen's shirt, pulling it up her eyes went wide to see the marks on his body. "Rowen…" she trailed off.

"It's nothing, Lita, alright?" he answered, pulling his shirt back down, "Can we not talk about it anymore?"

"So what are you going to do? Disappear for a week like last time? Come back with your face bashed in so bad that it'll take you talking for me to recognize who you are?" Sage demanded.

"You know what?" Rowen snapped.

He stood up and glared at Sage. "Screw you, Sage Date! I never asked for your help!" he spat.

"You ask for my help every time you call me!" Sage answered.

"Then I won't call for your help anymore!" Rowen snapped.

"Fine!" Sage answered.

"Fine!" Rowen snapped back before storming out the door.

"FINE!" Sage shouted at him.

Realizing what had just happened, Sage chased after his friend, not wanting him to get even more hurt. Rowen rushed down the stairs and out the door while Sage raced after him. Lita ran by him and out the door. "ROWEN!" she shouted.

Rowen ran down the street ignoring both Sage and Lita's shouts for him to come back. He ran until his lungs literally felt like they were on fire. He finally stopped running, collapsing onto a bus bench as he was trying to keep himself from having a nervous breakdown on the side of the road. "Rowen? Is that you?" a familiar voice called out. Looking up, he was surprised to see that it was Serena, the girl from the library.

"Serena! Uh…hi…" he stuttered, hiding his bruised face from her.

Serena sat next to him, smiling a little as her blond hair fell around her. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"I…I went for a walk," he replied, keeping his eyes to the ground.

Serena frowned, getting him to look at her and she gasped to see the bruises. "Rowen, what happened?" she asked. He looked at her, ashamed of the truth. He didn't want this girl seeing him as weak like his friends did.

"I fell, clumsy me I was cleaning the gutters on the roof and I fell off the ladder, hit my face on a rock," he replied, "IQ of 250 and I can't stay on a simple ladder."

Serena smiled softly as she reached over and held his hand. "Why don't we go back to my place and I can get that cleaned up?" she asked, "That looks pretty bad it could get infected."

"Sure," he answered, wincing as he stood up.

Serena frowned, seeing that he was in pain. She held onto his hand as she led him back home.

She unlocked the door once they reached her house. "My family's out to the movies, my little brother wanted to see some space movie, yuck," she told him. Rowen couldn't help but grin as she had him sit down on the couch. She rushed to the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit and came back. She opened it and looked at him. "Okay, I'm not really good at this. I got a C in first aid class," she told him.

"Well as long as you don't try to stitch me up I think we'll be okay," he answered, making her blush.

She started cleaning the cuts on his cheek making him wince. "That rock really got you," she murmured.

"Yeah, wasn't pretty," he answered.

"I'm sure it wasn't," she said softly.

She cleaned the cuts on his face when she accidentally bumped his side making him groan. She stared at him in disbelief when she touched his side again. "Please, don't," he murmured. Feeling concern rush through her, she gripped his shirt and pulled it up to see the bruises. His cheeks turned red as he stared at the floor again. She reached out, moving her fingers through his hair. "I don't want to talk about it, you'll think me weak," he murmured. She shook her head slowly before she hugged him.

"You're not," she answered, resting her head on his as he hugged her tightly.


	4. Worthy

Chapter 4: Worthy

Serena was walking with Rowen as they were heading over to the Date's dojo to see Sage's kendo rematch with a student that had challenged him, because he had missed the original competition. "Are you okay?" she asked as she wrapped her arm around his.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," he replied, "Just hope Sage and I can patch things up between us."

"Of course you will, you two are best friends," she said beaming.

Rowen smiled as he let her hand go and wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders. They looked over to see Sage and Lita talking quietly off on the side. They could tell that he really didn't want to do this but his grandfather was forcing him to agree to the match. "I'll find a spot for us," she told him smiling. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before she walked over to the benches to watch the rematch.

Rowen walked over to Sage, his heart as thumping in his chest because Sage had every right to be angry with him. "Sage," he called out. His friend looked up, surprised to see him there.

"Rowen," Sage answered.

The blue-haired teen sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Listen…man…I'm sorry for saying what I said and leaving like that. I was angry," he told his friend. Sage stared at him.

"Ro, I'm sorry too. I was angry, I was angry at the fact that this guy is supposed to protect you but instead he beats the crap out of you," Sage answered.

Rowen held out his hand to shake his friend's hand. Sage instead grabbed his hand and hugged him tight. "Don't scare me like that again, man, alright?" Sage asked, "You scared the hell out of me, bro." Rowen hugged him back, closing his eyes tight. Sage has been like the brother he never had. Always came to his defense, his indigo eyes scaring away any bully that would cause him any problem when they were kids. And he always came to Sage's defense when kids started calling him "demon child" because of those eyes. He respected Lita because she protected Sage just as much as he did.

Letting each other go, they gripped forearms with grins on their faces when Sage's grandfather walked over. "We are ready," he stated.

"Go get 'em, bro. You've got this," Rowen said with a grin.

Sage smirked before he kissed Lita's cheek. Rowen led Lita back over to the bleachers. "Lita, meet my new friend, Serena," he told her smiling.

"Hi, Serena! Hey, way to go, Rowen. You never told us about liking any girl!" Lita said grinning after shaking Serena's hand.

Rowen's cheeks flushed. "We're just friends, Li," he answered, "She has a boyfriend."

"Wow, what a grip you have there," Serena commented, shaking her hand a little.

Rowen smirked as he pulled Serena close as the rest of the guys walked up. "Hey you guys," Ryo greeted.

"Hey, Ryo, Rei. Meet Rowen's new girlfriend, Serena," Lita said with a big grin.

"Serena? Well nice to meet you, Ro, you never said anything about a girl," Ryo commented as they sat down.

"Seems to be the comment of the day," Rowen answered, "We're just friends."

Kento and Mina took their seats behind them with Cye and Ami coming up. Introductions were made and then the match got ready to begin. They watched as Sage circled his opponent, Shingo. Lita leaned forward, watching every move her husband-to-be was making. His form was perfect, of course it was his grandfather trained them both every day as children when they were forced to live with them because of their rebellious natures.

Sage was easily defeating his opponent, but then they could see that Shingo was getting frustrated especially when Sage easily kicked him to the ground.

Just as the blond was about to strike the final blow to finish the match, Shingo had a handful of dirt and threw it into Sage's face. Sage backed up, letting out a shout from shock nearly falling over. Thankfully, because of the hair covering his right eye, he was able to push it out of the way easily since his left eye was blinded from the dirt. Seeing nothing but red because of the fact Shingo tried to cheat, Sage let out another shout of anger and struck out with his sword the blunt blade connecting to his opponent's head and knocked his face protector off.

He had hit Shingo so hard that the other teen fell over unconscious and Sage's eyes grew wide when he realized what he had done. "SAGE!" he heard his grandfather roar in rage. Thinking quickly, Sage dropped to his knees in front of his grandfather as the old man made his way over to him. "You broke the etiquette I had taught you," his grandfather said angrily.

"It wasn't my fault…" Sage started to say.

"You have won this duel dishonorably," his grandfather scolded, "I taught you better than this."

"Yes, sir," Sage answered ashamed.

Kento stood up. "Hey! That's no fair he cheated!" he exclaimed. Lita grabbed his arm tightly before he could run out onto the field.

"Kento, don't! You'll make it worse for him," she hissed.

Sage winced when his grandfather grabbed him by the back of his shirt, yanking him to his feet. He practically dragged the teen back to the house. "You will go into the basement as punishment for your dishonor!" he snapped, shoving him towards the door. Sage didn't say a word as his grandfather opened the door and practically shoved him towards the stairs.

Making his way through the darkness, Sage removed his kendo armor and sat on the floor of the basement, closing his eyes as he fell into his deep meditation to try and regain his composure for what he had lost when Shingo attacked him.

Lita, however, ran down the bleachers and over to Sage's grandfather. "Master Date, punishing Sage was too…" she started to say.

"Are you going to argue with my decision?" Master Date demanded.

Lita was silent, her eyes were lowered to the ground. She knew better than to argue with the man. "Remember, Lita, you are going to marry into this family. There are things that will not happen in this family. Dishonor is one of them," he told her. She bowed her head slightly, her eyes going over to the house.

Sage was relaxed in his meditation, slightly scolding himself for his actions. He knew better than to lash back, but at the same time he couldn't regret his actions. Shingo was a fine fighter, just angry that Sage was once again that he was going to win the position as Vice-President of the Kendo club once more. Jealousy made Shingo lash out. He let out a deep breath, but then he realized something. The basement was brighter than it was a moment ago.

Opening his eyes, he saw a green light in the middle of the room. Standing up, he made his way over to the light. "_Sage, you have proven yourself worthy to be the Warrior of Light, the protector of Wisdom. You have proven yourself worthy to hold the armor that has been told in stories for generations in your family. Sage, it is time for you to receive the armor that once belonged to you long ago once more_," a voice echoed through the basement.

"Who's there?" Sage demanded.

Turning around toward the light again his eyes grew wide when he saw an armor sitting in the middle of the room. "What…" he said in confusion, his hand reaching out to touch the armor. Suddenly, the armor disappeared and Sage's head began to throb. "What's happening…" he muttered as he fell to his knees on the floor, "My head!"

Suddenly, flashes of what seemed like images raced through his mind. He saw himself as a boy thousands of years it seemed being led away by a man he didn't recognize, he saw himself training throughout his life in the ways of Kendo like his grandfather had, he saw his friends all of his friends training in the same arts. He saw himself picking a sword up off a table. He saw Lita, beautiful Lita she looked like a Princess. Wait, she was a princess. Her name wasn't Lita then, no, it was…what was it? It was Jupiter! His Jupiter! "_Seiji! Wake up, you can't leave me alone like this!_" he heard her beg. She sounded so far away. Then everything had gone black.

Letting out a gasp, he fell on all fours gasping for air as if he had run a marathon. He looked at his hands to see the armor was on his body. "I remember…" he said quietly. Just as he said those words, the armor disappeared from his body and he was holding a green orb in the palm of his hand that had the symbol "Wisdom" in the middle of it. Hearing the door to the basement open, he stood up.

"Sage, you may come up now," his grandfather called to him.

Sage walked up the stairs, wincing from the sunlight hitting his eyes. "Grandfather, forgive me for my dishonor," he murmured.

"Don't worry, Sage, Shingo woke up and admitted to everything," Master Date answered, "In fact if you hadn't reacted, he would have been kicked out of Kendo for the rest of his life, nothing is worse in Kendo that cheating."

"Yes, grandfather," he answered.

Master Date gripped his shoulder and went to speak with Shingo's parents when Sage looked over at his friends. He saw Lita and his heart actually missed a beat. "_Jupiter_," he thought. Of course he couldn't say that to her, she had no memory of their lives together so long ago. He walked over to the group.

"Hey, we tried to get your grandfather to bring you up sooner," Kento told him.

"Yeah we knew once that guy woke up and he knew we saw it all he fessed up," Ryo put in.

They saw that Sage wasn't really responding, just staring. "Hey, dude, you okay?" Kento asked.

"Huh? Yeah, fine, at least it's over now," Sage answered.

Lita saw that something was off and stared at him quizzically but he gave her a slight smile as if to tell her not to worry.

After everything was cleaned up and everyone else left, Sage went into the house while Lita was downstairs reading a new cookbook Sage had given her for her birthday.

Standing in the shower the hot water was rolling off him as he rested his forehead against the tiled wall. His head still throbbed, remembering everything from a thousand years ago. Meeting Lita, the fact that they had always been close and their meeting wasn't an accident. It wasn't even fate, it was his destiny to find his Jupiter again. They were sent to the future to find each other again.

He was supposed to have his armor back, did that mean danger was around the corner somewhere? Was Beryl back? Was she going to send her army of minions after them? Why make him remember if Lita didn't remember their life together? It was as if a gift and a cure all at once just hitting him as he stood there in the shower, the hot water turning cold.

Getting out of the shower finally, he got dressed and made his way downstairs. Lita looked up to see that he was clearly distracted. "Sage," she called to him, making him look up. She set her book down and stood up from the chair, making her way over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, just…just trying to shake off what happened today," he replied.

"Well, you would've won fair and square everyone knows it," she said smiling.

Sage smiled back, his indigo eyes locking with her brown eyes. "Lita," he said softly.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Can I try something?" he asked.

She stared at him quizzically. "Okay…" she said slowly. Sage rested his hand on the back of her neck as he pulled her close and kissed her lightly. Lita was stunned, but then she kissed him back. Pulling away, she stared at him surprised. "W—Wow…" she stuttered, making him smile.

"Wow good or wow bad?" he quipped making her laugh.

"You know, Sage, I don't think this'll be so bad after all," she answered, hugging him.

Sage hugged her back, resting his head on top of hers.


	5. The Fire

Chapter 5: The Fire

Ryo was practicing his katana moves while White Blaze was off on the side watching him closely. Rei was sweeping the patio when she saw her friend practicing his moves. She smiled a little as she leaned against the rail. Suddenly feeling like she was being watched, she looked down and let out a shriek when she saw her grandfather standing there. "Enjoying the view are you my dear?" he quipped.

"Grandpa! I have no idea what you are talking about," she replied, turning her back to Ryo.

Her grandfather smirked before walking away. Rei looked back at Ryo, but then she continued with her chores.

While Ryo was finishing his practice, White Blaze suddenly let out a loud growl making him look at him. "What's wrong, boy?" he asked.

"Nice looking tiger you got there," a voice said, making the teen spin around.

He saw two men standing there, both looked like they were about to go hunting. "How much you want for him?" the first one asked. Ryo looked at him.

"Uh he's not for sale sir," Ryo replied as he stood beside White Blaze.

The tiger stood up, resting his head on Ryo's side as he scratched his neck. "Name your price," the first man insisted as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a checkbook.

"Sir, he's not for sale," Ryo insisted, "He's mine."

The two men glared as he took a step forward and White Blaze let out a loud roar, standing in front of the boy. "What's a tiger doing at a temple anyways?" the second man demanded. Ryo glared at him as he kept his katana held up.

"This boy here is training to be a Samurai and as you would know that the tiger is the emblem for Samurai warriors. He is our protector, our warrior," Rei's grandfather replied.

Ryo glared at the two men as they reluctantly left the temple. "White Blaze, stay close to me," he told the tiger as he put his katana away. The tiger nuzzled Ryo's knees, making him smile as he walked away.

That night, Ryo was asleep in his bed with Rei asleep beside him. It was becoming a habit where she would sneak into his room because for some reason she felt more comfortable sleeping with him than in her own room.

As they were sleeping though, White Blaze woke up with a loud groan. Standing up, the tiger walked out of Ryo's room and went outside to see the two poachers standing there with torches. "Well there's the big cat," the first poacher said with a grin. White Blaze snarled, but then he bounded off the patio and towards the forest. "After him!" the poacher exclaimed as they chased the tiger.

White Blaze ran as fast as his legs could carry him into the forest as the poachers chased him. They started lighting the trees on fire in the attempt to smoke the tiger out. White Blaze roared loudly as the forest caught fire.

Ryo woke up with a jump. "White Blaze?" he called out. He saw that his tiger wasn't in the room and got out of bed.

"Ryo?" Rei called out as he ran over to the window.

His eyes grew wide when he saw that the forest was on fire. "No…NO!" he exclaimed.

"Ryo?!" Rei exclaimed as he ran out of his room.

Ryo looked around the temple. "WHITE BLAZE!" he shouted for his tiger. He heard his tiger roar in the distance and his heart dropped. "NO!" he shouted.

"NO, RYO!" Rei shouted as he ran towards the forest, "RYO! COME BACK!"

The teenager ran into the forest, searching for his tiger. "WHITE BLAZE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" he shouted.

Ryo jumped over a fallen log, letting out a shout when another landed almost on top of him. He heard a growl and saw White Blaze running towards him. "Blaze!" he said relieved, hugging the tiger tightly when he reached him. He rubbed the tiger's neck when they heard screaming in the distance. The poachers were now trapped in the fire that they had started.

White Blaze looked at his master, resting his head on his stomach. "We can't leave them here," he murmured. The tiger started running towards the screams with Ryo right behind him.

The closer they got to the men, however, the worse the fire was. Ryo let out a shout when a flaming branch was going to land on his head. He held his arms up to protect himself, but then he realized that he wasn't burning. He wasn't even feeling the fire's heat around him.

Opening his eyes, he saw that he had some sort of armor on his body. _"Ryo Sanada, you decided that instead of leaving these men to die, you risk your life to save theirs. Your sacrifice shows your true Virtue of Righteousness. Ryo, it is time for your armor to be returned to you_," a voice echoed around him. Suddenly, Ryo's head started throbbing. It felt as though the inside of his head was on fire. Letting out a scream he fell to his knees, holding his head in pain.

There was an image of him as a baby, wrapped in what looked like rags in the arms of a man he didn't recognize. He saw himself growing up in a temple, meeting his friends as they were fighting old Samurai ways. He saw himself at 12 holding two katanas as a red orb floating in front of him. He saw Rei, she was dressed like a princess. She was a princess. Her name wasn't Rei…no…no…it was…it was…Mars! The last image he saw was them lying on the floors of a temple, her hand touching his cheek as she was smiling at him. "_I love you_," she whispered.

Ryo let out a gasp, jumping to his feet. "I remember…" he whispered. He could hear the men screaming for help and the teen ran towards their screams.

When he found them, they were lying unconscious on the ground. He took one man, placing him onto White Blaze's back before he hoisted the other one up onto his shoulders and they both started running through the forest.

Rei was standing outside with her grandfather, her heart racing in her chest.

Ryo exited the forest, the armor disappearing as he fell to his knees gasping for air as he was lying on the ground. Two paramedics ran over to him. "What's your name?" the paramedic asked.

"Ryo…Ryo Sanada…" he replied, closing his eyes tight as the doctors checked him for any burns.

"Can you tell me where you are?" the paramedic asked.

"Tokyo…Master Hino's temple," he replied.

His head was swimming from everything he had just remembered, losing consciousness.

At the hospital, Rei was sitting in the waiting room with her grandfather when a doctor came out "Who is here for Ryo Sanada?" he asked.

"I am, I am the boy's guardian," Master Hino answered.

The doctor looked at the little, old man in front of him. "Ryo is actually just fine. Not a single burn on him, no smoke inhalation, and not even a scratch from the forest fire," he told the old man.

"So why did he pass out?" Rei asked.

"Probably exhaustion from carrying one of the poachers out of the forest," the doctor replied, "He is free to go home."

Rei entered Ryo's hospital room to see him pulling a shirt her grandfather had brought for him. "Rei…" he started to say when she swung out, smacking him as hard as she could in the face.

"You jerk!" she said with tears in her eyes before she shoved his chest, "You're a jerk for scaring me like that!"

Ryo just stared at her. "You're a jerk for making me care too much about you! I should hate you!" she snapped as she pushed against his chest. She was trying to keep herself from crying. "I wasn't supposed to care about you! I'm supposed to be a regular priestess, who worries about her own work and duties, not about someone else!" she told him, "You make me care about you!"

Standing up, he hugged her tightly as she struggled against him. "I wasn't supposed to care about you more than my friend," she said crying as she hugged him back finally. She gripped the back of his shirt tightly as he rested his forehead against her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so sorry, Rei."

She held onto him as tears spilled down her cheeks and onto his shirt.

Two days later, Ryo was cleaning up some of the things that were destroyed in the fire. He tossed them into a pile when he looked over to see Rei heading towards her meditation room. Ever since the hospital, she hadn't said a word to him. She had been sleeping in her own room, suddenly he felt that his room and bed were too big and too cold.

He let out a sigh and looked over at White Blaze. "You knew this whole time didn't you?" he asked the tiger. The animal cocked his head as if telling him that he had no idea what he was talking about. Ryo shook his head slowly, sighing as he went to practice his fighting skills.

Rei was in her meditation room trying to concentrate on a vision that had been bothering her for the last few days but all she could do was think of Ryo. She let out a huff. "How dare he make you worry about him," she muttered to herself, "You're supposed to not care about men."

Giving up on her meditations, she went to leave the room when she saw Ryo standing there. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to  
talk to you," he replied.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "We have nothing to talk about, you shouldn't have done that," she insisted.

"White Blaze is all I have left from my family. Were you expecting me to just let the fire kill him?" he demanded.

Rei glared at him. "You could've found White Blaze then come back you didn't have to save those men," she hissed.

"You would've rather me let them die?" he asked raising a brow.

Rei scowled, she knew that wasn't right either. "No…" she muttered. She let out a frustrated sigh. "You have too good of a heart, Ryo. You care about people who have done you wrong, why?" she asked.

"Because even if they're evil, they tried to kill White Blaze, they were still people and them dying in that fire wouldn't be the justice they deserve," he replied.

Ryo looked at her as he rested his hand on the side of her neck. "Rei, I'll never leave you," he told her, "And I know you care about me more than you'll admit it to yourself. You worry about me, because you care about me more than a friend." She glared at him and she went to shove him back when he grabbed her arms, pinning them to the wall.

"Let go," she told him, glaring at him.

"No," he answered.

She glared at him but then he leaned forward and kissed her. Rei was stunned and tried to fight against him but then she started kissing him back. He let her arms go and they went around his neck as he held her to him. Pulling back, he kissed her lips briefly before he moved his kisses to her cheek then pulled back completely. Rei was gasping for air, gripping the front of his shirt as his arms moved around her back. "I'll never leave you, as long as I live I will never leave you," he whispered into her ear. Rei closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder as they held each other close.

Ryo breathed in her scent as he stared out the window. She may not remember their lives back during the Silver Millennium, but he was going to love her just as much if not more like he had then. Even if she may never remember their lives together all those years ago, he would and he was going to make sure that they experienced their futures together this time and never to experience any regrets.


	6. Deep Blue

Chapter 6: Deep Blue

Cye was asleep in his bed when he saw blurs in his mind, this was a constant thing since he came to Japan. He always had the same blurs, could never see anything that could let him see what it was he was dreaming. He woke up, feeling restless and confused. He was sitting up in his bed, running his hand over his face when there was a soft knock on the door. "Cye? Are you awake?" Ami called out.

"I'm awake," he answered, "I'll be down soon."

Getting showered and dressed in the school uniform he walked downstairs to Ami holding a bowl of cereal. "I can't cook like you so…" she said her cheeks turning red.

"This is perfect, thank you," he answered, kissing her cheek.

He sat at the table to eat while Ami finished her breakfast. "Are you ready for your swim meet today?" she asked.

"Yeah, are you going to come?" he asked.

"Are you inviting me?" she asked.

Cye looked at his girlfriend quizzically. "Why wouldn't you be invited?" he asked. Her cheeks flushed making him smile. "You're invited to see the swim meet," he assured her.

After they ate their breakfast, Cye grabbed her bag off the hook and placed it over her shoulders before grabbing his own schoolbag off the floor. They left the house and Ami locked the door behind them.

As they walked towards the school, his arm went around her shoulders.

Walking up to the school they could hear girls giggling. "Hello, _Cye_," Rachel called out to them. She was probably the most popular girl in school with her long red curly hair, dark blue eyes, and her perfect figure.

"Morning ladies," he greeted, nodding his head to them.

Suddenly, she was standing in front of Cye, making them both back up. "Hey, Cye, what are you doing this weekend? I hear that new hit movie is going into theaters here this weekend, wanna see it with me?" she asked as she flirtingly ran her finger up and down Cye's arm. Cye's cheeks turned red and he cleared his throat.

"Uh actually, Ami and I are going to go to Toyama this weekend," he replied.

"We are?" Ami asked surprised.

"That's four hours away," Rachel said pouting.

Ami looked at her boyfriend surprised. "Yeah, well...you ladies have a nice day," he answered as he held onto Ami's hand and they went into the school.

"What was all that about?" she asked.

"Anything to keep Rachel from touching me," he replied.

She stared at him quizzically. "Why Toyama?" she asked. Cye stopped walking and looked at her.

"I'm not sure, it was the first thing that came into my mind," he replied.

The bell rang warning the students that class was starting soon. "I'll see you later, love," he told her. He kissed her cheek before rushing off to his own class.

The day went on like any normal day. After school, Ami was sitting in the pool area as she watched the other swimmers get ready for the meet. "Hello, Ami!" a voice called out, making her look up.

"Oh, hi, Serena, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Rowen and I thought it would be a great idea to see Cye's swim meet today," Serena replied.

Rowen smiled as he waved at Ami. "How are you doing, Ami?" he asked.

"I'm doing okay," she replied as they took seats beside her, "Are the others coming?"

"Kento was starving so he stopped off to get a burger before coming over," Rowen commented.

"Speaking of food I'm hungry too," Serena answered making Ami shake her head slowly.

Rowen smirked as he leaned back against the bleachers behind him as the others arrived.

Ami's cheeks flushed as she watched as Cye walked out of the gym with his team. "What's he thinking going out with that little mouse? I bet they don't do anything but just sit there because she can't even talk to him without her cheeks turning ten shades of red," she heard Rachel mutter three seats behind her. She turned around to see Rachel and her friends giggling, but then looked at Ami. "Oh, sorry, Ami! I didn't see you there," Rachel said with a slight sneer. She turned back and stared into her lap. "She's just a frigid head case. You know I heard she was kicked out of the brain farm," she heard Rachel say. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "If I had a guy like Cye I would be flaunting him around town," Rachel added. She could hear her friends giggling and that was the end for whatever confidence she had left.

"Tell Cye I had something to do," Ami said suddenly as she stood up.

"Ami?" Lita called out as the girl rushed down the bleachers.

Lita stood up and looked at the girls who immediately stopped laughing. "What did you do?!" she demanded.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about Kino," Rachel answered, flicking her hair over her shoulders again.

"Ah crap," Sage muttered, standing up.

"What did you do?!" Lita snapped.

"Spoke some truths that your little brainiac friend didn't like," she replied.

Lita glared at her. "What does it matter to you? You didn't even LIKE Cye until Ami started dating him!" she exclaimed.

"Well speaking the cutest guy in all of Tokyo is engaged to a boy I have to look at other options," Rachel answered.

Rachel suddenly screamed and Sage jumped up. "What did you call me?!" Lita exclaimed.

"Shit! Lita, Lita put her down!" Sage insisted, grabbing onto her arms.

"Did you hear what she called me?!" Lita exclaimed.

"Lita, I love you, I really do but can we please put her down so I don't have to find another school for you to go to?" he insisted.

She glared at Rachel and let her drop back in her seat. "You psychotic karate kid!" she spat, ""Hope your future kids don't turn out as psycho as you!" Sage grabbed Lita around the waist.

"LET ME AT HER, SAGE! JUST ONE PUNCH! JUST ONE!" Lita shouted as he pulled the down the bleachers.

Outside, Ami was sitting on the roof the school wiping her tears from her face when she heard the door open. "I don't want to talk, Serena," she called out.

"Well I'll let her know that then," Cye said making her stand up with a gasp.

She wiped her tears from her face, but instead of saying anything Cye walked over and hugged her. Ami hugged him back, she could still smell the chlorine from the pool on his skin as she buried her head into his neck. "Why do you let her get to you, love?" he asked softly, "I don't want her I want you."

"But why? You deserve someone who'd flaunt the fact she has a sweet, British guy who can cook on their arm," she answered.

"If I wanted that then I might as well date Kento," he told her making her laugh.

She laughed a little, holding onto him. "If I wanted the average girl who threw herself at me I would go home for that," he added. She sighed, closing her eyes as she rested her head on his chest.

"I know you were saying it to get Rachel off your case, but let's go to Toyama," she said softly.

Cye smiled a little. "Alright, we're going to Toyama," he answered.

**(Toyama)**

Cye was walking through the city with his girlfriend, holding her hand. "Your mum was alright with this trip?" he asked.

"She said she was going away on a medical conference. She won't be home until Friday," she replied.

Cye moved his arm around her shoulders with a smile as they made their way through the city. "Where exactly are we going?" she asked curiously.

"I'm not exactly sure…something is drawing me towards the sea," he replied.

Ami looked at him surprised as they went to take a taxi in that direction.

Arriving at the bridge, Cye held his girlfriend's hand as they went down the rocks. Resting his hands on her waist, he lifted her up and over so she didn't fall down the rocks. Ami flushed as her boyfriend smiled at her, his arm moving around his back as they stared at the water. "It's so incredible up close," she murmured.

"Yeah," He answered.

Suddenly, he let her go and removed his shirt. "Cye? What are you doing?" she asked.

"I just have this feeling I need to go down below," Cye replied.

Ami stared as he removed his shoes and socks, tossing them off to the side. "No, Cye, you could get sucked in!" Ami exclaimed.

"I'll be back," he answered.

"CYE!" she shouted as he dove into the water.

Cye swam towards the bottom of the sea. He could felt the current from the whirlpool start to catch him. He started kicking harder to get away from the current when he suddenly felt something brush beside him. Reaching out, he grabbed a hold of whatever it was and it was a killer whale. "_Doe this whale know why I am here_?" he thought.

The whale brought him further down to the bottom of the sea. When he reached it, he felt for the bottom searching for what he had been dreaming about for the last several months. His fingers grazed something smooth, almost like a marble and held it in his hand. "_Cye Mauri, you have sacrificed so much in your young life. Your faithfulness in love and humanity makes you stronger. You have true loyalty and trust in your friends, which makes you the true Warrior of Faith and Trust. Cye, it is time for your armor to be returned to you_," a voice echoed in his head.

Cye suddenly realized he could breathe underwater and saw armor on his body. He suddenly screamed in pain, holding his head. It felt as though his head was in a vice.

**(Flash)**

**_ He saw himself as a little boy playing in a creek with his sister. "Shin, Shin, my darling, come here!" his mother called out. He got up and rushed over to his mother. His mother held his hand and he saw a man in robes standing there. "This is Amadeus, love, he's going to teach you to be a real Samurai," she told him. He gasped and the man held his hand out to him. The little boy slipped his hand into Amadeus's hand and allowed the man to lead him away. _**

**(Flash)**

**_ Cye saw himself now at the age of 12 practicing his fighting moves with a young Kento. "Hey! Come on!" he called out. Running over to his friend, he let out a shout as he jumped through the air, one foot landing in Kento's clasped hands. Kento flipped him up and the twelve-year-old flew high in the sky. Coming back down, the he balanced one hand in Kento's who held his arm straight up before Kento finally let him down._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Cye was in a room when he picked up a trident like spear. "Shin, you have been chosen to be the Warrior of Torrent," Amadeus told him. He held his weapon high as it glowed a light blue._**

**(Flash)**

**_ He saw Ami sitting in the gardens with the other girls. She looked so beautiful. Wait her name wasn't Ami then…no…it was. "Hello, I'm Princess Mercury," she said softly._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Cye was holding a mortally injured Mercury in his arms. "You have beautiful eyes…" she whispered._**

**(End Flash)**

Cye opened his eyes. "_I remember…I remember everything!_" his mind exclaimed. He swam towards the surface as fast as he could. Just as he broke the surface, the armor disappeared. "YEA!" he shouted.

He landed back on the beach, feeling like a completely different person. "Cye?!" he heard Ami call out. Turning around, he saw Ami rush over to him. "How are you alive? You were down there for so long!" she asked in disbelief, hugging him tight when she reached him. Cye hugged her back.

"I've always had the ability to hold my breath underwater for a long time," he replied.

Ami hugged him even tighter when he suddenly let her go. "Can I look at you for a second?" he asked. She stepped back and looked at him quizzically when he reached up and touched her cheek softly. Her cheeks turned red and went to turn away when he lifted her chin up.

Doing the first brave thing he had done since asking Ami out, he leaned forward and kissed her lips tenderly. Ami was surprised, but then she kissed him back as her arms around his neck. Her fingers moved through his wet hair when he lifted her up and swung her back and forth in his arms. She smiled into the kiss before he set her down on her feet again, resting his forehead against hers. "What was that for?" she asked.

"Because you deserve to know that you are the only woman I could ever want," he answered.

"Cye…" she said softly.

He kissed her again and her arms moved around his back as he held her in his arms.


	7. Justice is Served

Chapter 7: Justice is served

Weeks passed, Kento and Mina were inseparable. She was over all the time playing videogames and hanging out with Kento and his five younger siblings.

One day, the two of them were sitting on the couch playing another round of videogames when Kento glanced at her. "So…does this mean you're my girl now?" he asked. The blond paused the game and looked at him.

"That kinda came out of nowhere, Hot Stuff," she commented.

"Well, we've been hanging out a lot, not a lot of girls can handle my crazy siblings like you can," he answered.

Mina gave him a soft smile. "Your sibling are cute, what's not to love about them?" she asked smiling.

"So, whadya say? You my girl?" he asked.

The blonde's smile faded and she looked at the controller in her hand. "I have to go," she replied.

"What? Why?" he asked.

She grabbed her book bag off the floor. "I just have to go," she replied. She got up and left the house, leaving Kento there confused.

"Was it something I said?" he muttered to himself.

The next morning, Mina was walking to school when someone ran up beside her. She looked over to see Kento walking beside her. "So, you gonna tell me what's going on or do I gotta guess? Hopefully you'll tell me because I'm bad at guessing games," he commented.

"You don't want me to be your girl," she answered.

"And _why_?" he asked.

"I'm cursed that's why," she replied.

Kento halted in his steps. "Cursed?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

She kicked up a pebble, watching as it bounced down the sidewalk. "I was once a major celebrity, but then someone cursed me, saying I could never have a happy relationship," she replied.

"Why would someone curse you?" he asked.

"I don't know, but they did," she replied.

"So…you don't wanna be my girl because you're cursed into having bad relationships?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

The young man frowned, but then he suddenly grabbed the blond by her waist and lifted her up so she was sitting on his shoulders. "Wha! Kento, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"Listen up, Blondie, I don't care about some curse. What I do care about is you," he replied.

"But…" she started to say.

"No buts, I'm asking for one shot. Just one shot to prove to this curse that you can have a happy relationship and babe I can be the guy you can be happy with," he answered.

She smiled as he rested his hands on her knees and she rested her hands over his. "Alright, one shot," she murmured. Suddenly, he grasped her hand and pulled her down so she was in his arms. He was carrying her down the street in the bridal position. "Kento, I can walk," she commented.

Giving her his best grin, he set her on her feet and pulled her close. Mina gasped, her hands gripping his arms when he pressed his forehead against hers. "I'll make you happy, Mi, you'll see," he assured her. They started walking again and the young woman's face was flushed as she looked over at him to see that he was grinning like he had won the lottery. Reaching over, she slid her hand in his as they finished their walk to school.

Two weeks later, the Rei Faun family had gone to a cabin that was a favorite vacation spot for them. They had invited Mina along and she happily obliged. The new couple hardly left the other's side the whole time except for when it came to lights out. Then his mother kept a watchful eye on their bedroom doors to make sure no one tried to sneak into the other's rooms.

On the second day there, Mina was staring at the many artifacts that decorated the house. "Pretty cool huh?" Kento asked as he stood beside her, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," she replied.

"This stuff has been in my family for centuries," he commented, "Stuff's probably older than the rocks outside."

Mina just smirked to see him staring at the artifacts when they suddenly heard a loud crash. "Huh? What was that?" he muttered. They rushed out of the room and downstairs.

"You did it!" his younger sister, Rinfi, called out.

"Not uh, Rin! You're not blaming me again!" his brother, Yun, whined.

"No that old lady caregiver did it!" Rinfi insisted.

"What's going on down here?" Kento demanded as he walked into the living room.

His eyes grew wide when he saw that there was broken pottery and other artifacts all over the floor. It looked like a lifelike dominos game had been played. Then he saw the offending object, a ball laying at his feet. "Kento? What was that?" he heard his mother call out.

"You guys need to get out of here," Kento told his siblings.

He walked over to his five-year-old sister, Chun Fa, who was sitting on the floor with a terrified look on her face. "Come here, cutie," he told his sister, picking her up. He handed her over to Mina, "Get them out of here. If mom sees this she's going to flip!"

"What are you going to do?" Mina asked.

"Don't worry about me, babe," he answered.

He got them to leave the house before he grabbed his baseball bat that sat by his feet. "Alright, goodbye freedom it was nice knowing ya," he muttered. Taking the bat, he swung it as hard as he could and smashed through one of the other vases still sitting on its pedestal.

"Kento?! What on earth are you doing?" his mother demanded.

Kento looked around. "He, ma, was practicing some swings," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"These artifacts are irreplaceable!" his mother exclaimed.

The teenager looked around the room as his mother walked over and snatched the bat from his hands. "I taught you better than this, Kento Rei Faun," she scolded.

"Sorry, ma," he answered, looking at the floor.

He looked at all of the broken artifacts before she grabbed him by the back of his shirt, hauling him upstairs.

She shoved the teenager into his room and he let out a deep breath as she slammed the door behind him. "Well at least Rinfi and Yun will live another day," he muttered under his breath as he took the ball that was still in his hand and chucked it out the window. Sitting down in the chair, he leaned back in it. "Now what genius? You're stuck in here the rest of the night at least," he told himself, "Guess I'll catch a few z's." He leaned back and started to relax when a bright light filled the room. "Huh?" he muttered, opening his eyes.

He saw an orange orb floating in front of him. "What…" he muttered as he reached up to touch it when the whole room lit up.

_"Kento…you have decided to protect your siblings by taking the blame for something that is unclear if it was their fault or not. You protect those you love. You have the soul of Justice still within your heart. Kento of Hardrock, it is time for your armor to be returned to its proper wearer,_" a voice told him.

The orb dropped into his hand and Kento let out a gasp when he saw armor appear on his body. "Whoa! This is awesome!" he commented as he looked at himself. As he was getting used to the armor on his body, his entire head started to swim. "What…What's happening…what's wrong with my head?" he muttered as he pulled off the helmet to try to alleviate the pain.

**(Flash)**

**_ He was a little boy playing in what looked like an old village. His father suddenly grabbed him from behind, lifting him up onto his shoulders as they were making their way through the village. "Where are we going?" he asked._**

**_"You have a bright future, my son," his father told him._**

**_ They walked to the outskirts of town and his father set him on the ground when a man dressed in robes with a golden staff walked over. "My son, you will go with this man and you will learn incredible things," his father told him. The little boy just stared at the man with wide eyes and the man crouched before him, offing his hand._**

**_"You will have many grand adventures, Shu," he assured the little boy._**

**_ For reasons unknown, little Shu felt like he could trust this man as he slid his hand into the man's and he looked at his parents. "Bye, bye," he told them as he waved to them as he left with the man._**

**(Flash)**

**_ He saw himself at 12 practicing his fighting moves with a bo. He swung it around his head, letting out a shout as he aimed it at Sage who blocked his attack with his sword. "Better do better than that, Shu!" he said laughing._**

**_"No fair, Seiji!" he answered as he chased he blond._**

**_ Shu let out a shout as he suddenly jumped off the ground, jumped off a wall, and aimed his bo at Seiji's head who ducked. Seiji swung his sword at Shu's middle, who jumped back then dropped to the ground and kicked Seiji's knees out from under him. He held his weapon to Seiji's throat. "MERCY! MERCY!" Seiji called out. Shu just smirked as he dropped his weapon and held his hand out to his friend who easily grasped it and Shu pulled him up._**

**(Flash)**

**_ His eyes were wide as he was holding a true bo in his hand as orange armor appeared before him. "Shu, you have been chosen to be the bearer of the Hardrock armor. Your virtue is Justice," the man told him. Shu looked at himself in a mirror to see the symbol of "justice" glowing in the middle of his forehead._**

**(Flash)**

**_ He was in the gardens with his friends at some sort of kingdom with all these young women in front of them. Wait, he recognized them as the girls! There was Mina! She was sitting on a stone bench smiling at him, but wait her name wasn't Mina. She was a Princess, a gorgeous princess and her name was…her name was… "Princess Venus of Venus," she told him._**

**(Flash)**

**_ They were locked in a battle with a large army of some sort. The ground was crumbling beneath them. "VENUS!" he shouted when he grabbed her around the waist. She was clinging to him closing her eyes tight. "Don't close your eyes, look at me!" he called out. She looked at him with wide eyes. "I've got you," he told her._**

**_"I've got you," she answered._**

**(End Flashes)**

Kento was breathing heavily, sweat was pouring down his face. "I remember…Venus…the Silver Millennium…" he murmured, "I remember everything!"

"Kento, you can come out now," his mother told him.

The teenager slowly stood up from the floor, wiping the sweat from his face as he opened the door and left the room. "Everyone's outside," she told him. He nodded his head slowly as he walked downstairs and went outside.

Walking outside, he saw Mina wearing jean shorts and her bikini top as she was playfully chasing his siblings around in the water. "Look, it's Kento!" Yun called out.

"Hey you little rascals," he said smiling as he walked onto the beach.

He looked at Mina and his heart skipped several beats. "Hey," she said smiling.

"Hey," he answered.

Not caring that his sneakers and jeans were now completely drenched, he walked over and pulled Mina close, kissing her deeply. Mina was stunned at first, but then she kissed him back, gripping the front of his shirt. "Ew!" his siblings exclaimed. Kento easily ignored them before he pulled back, placing kisses on Mina's closed eyes, her cheeks, and then the tip of her nose before pulling away completely.

"Wow…" she whispered.

"Wow," he agreed before he kissed her again and this time she wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back.


	8. The Final Touch

Chapter 8: The Final Touch

Rowen was sitting on his computer going over some research he had been finding about a mystical group of armors. He winced when he heard the front door slam closed. "ROWEN! Where are you boy?" he heard his father call out. Getting up from his chair he turned off the screen to his computer before slowly making his way downstairs.

"I'm here, dad," he answered.

Mr. Hashiba looked at his son with the deadliest glare that it sent chills up the teenager's back. "Why's this place such a pigsty?" he asked in a slur as he tossed a beer bottle on the freshly cleaned carpet that Rowen had tried to clean up.

"I did my best, sir," Rowen replied, his eyes staring at the ground.

Suddenly, his father reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, yanking him closer. "Is that attitude I hear boy?" he spat.

"No, sir," Rowen replied, diverting his eyes.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you boy!" Mr. Hashiba snapped.

"Dad…I'm sorry," Rowen answered.

His father let him drop to the ground. "You had that Date kid over here again," Mr. Hashiba muttered. Rowen's eyes grew wide.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I can always smell it when that kid's over here," Mr. Hashiba replied.

He stumbled into the kitchen as Rowen just stood in the living room. He knew he wasn't allowed to move, as long as his dad was talking to him he had to stay right where he was dropped. Mr. Hashiba suddenly was in front of the boy again and he shoved his son against the wall hard enough that Rowen winced when the back of his head hit it. "That little bastard doesn't know anything does he?" he spat.

"No sir," Rowen replied with wide eyes.

"You sure?" he demanded.

"I promise, no one knows! I swear!" Rowen replied when he felt his dad's hand go around his throat.

"I should kill you for bringing people into this house!" Mr. Hashiba snarled as his hand tightened around his throat.

Rowen closed his eyes tight, gripping his wrist tightly as he let out a cough. "You're not supposed to bring people here!" his father snapped.

"I'm sorry," Rowen gasped out, "He came over by surprise, I wasn't expecting him I swear!"

Mr. Hashiba threw him to the floor and Rowen held his throat, gasping for the air that was forced from his lungs. "You pathetic piece of waste," Mr. Hashiba spat before he kicked Rowen's side. Rowen bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from groaning in pain. It was only worse whenever he reacted to any of the hits or kicks. "You better not be lying to me, boy!" Mr. Hashiba snapped before he grabbed Rowen's shirt, hauling the teen to his feet.

Before Rowen could react, he was suddenly thrown against the wall only with his father's drunken induced rage he ended up hitting the corner of the wall and it knocked the air out of his lungs. "Stop being such a baby!" his father snapped as he was trying to catch his breath, "What does he know?!"

"Nothing!" Rowen wheezed out.

Mr. Hashiba backhanded him across the face hard enough that he felt his lip split again. "WHAT DOES HE KNOW?!" he shouted.

"Nothing, dad, I swear! I promise he doesn't know anything!" Rowen answered.

Mr. Hashiba grabbed his throat again only this time his grip was even tighter than before. "I wish you had never lived! You stupid excuse for a son! You're an embarrassment to me!" his father snarled. Rowen closed his eyes tight as he struggled to breathe. "What's the matter? Can't breathe?" Mr. Hashiba taunted.

Rowen suddenly felt something in his snap as his eyes snapped open and he glared at his father. Letting out a shout, he kicked his father in the gut sending him backwards. "I'm not five-years-old anymore!" Rowen snapped, coughing as he held his throat. Mr. Hashiba got up from the floor and then the panic went through Rowen when he realized what he did. He took off upstairs.

"YOU BETTER RUN!" Mr. Hashiba roared as he chased the teenager up the stairs.

Later in her home, Serena was in her room dozing off in front of the radio when she was supposed to be doing her homework when there was soft knocking on her window. "Huh?" she murmured tiredly. Opening her eyes, she looked over to see a bruised and battered Rowen sitting in a tree outside her window. "Rowen!" she gasped.

Rushing over, she opened the window and helped him in. "What happened to you?!" she exclaimed when he hushed her.

"Your parents are downstairs, I don't want them calling my dad," he answered.

She bit her lower lip as she had him sit down. The blond had him stay on her bed as she quietly tiptoed out of her room and down the hall towards the bathroom to get some of the things she needed to take care of his injuries.

When she came back in, she saw that he was still sitting exactly where she had left him. Quietly closing her door, she placed everything beside him. "Can I see?" she asked. Rowen looked at her with the saddest eyes she had ever seen.

Slowly he reached down and removed his shirt, revealing the new bruises on his body. "Rowen!" she gasped when he hushed her, "Oh my God! What's he done do you?!"

"Serena, please hush, your parents will hear then they'll call the police," he answered.

"Well they should," she told him.

"Then this was a mistake, I'll go somewhere else," he answered as he went to get up.

Her eyes grew wide. "No, Rowen, no!" she insisted quietly, grabbing his good arm, "Okay, I'll stay quiet." Rowen looked at her before he finally sat down on her bed again. She was able to sneak downstairs and get an ice pack out of the freezer, placing it on his bruised ribs once she came back in. "What happened?" she asked.

"I fought back," he replied, "He actually wasn't being so bad until his hand was around my throat."

Serena could see the bruises forming on his neck and tears welled up in her eyes. "This isn't right, Rowen. You don't deserve this," she said softly.

"It is what it is until I'm 18," he answered.

Tears welled up in her eyes, for some reason he meant so much to her even though he was just her friend. Was he just her friend? Something about him was familiar. Reaching up, she pushed some of the hair from his eyes and he looked at her. Rowen's heart sped up as he looked at her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever known in his life and the most caring girl he had ever met. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against hers as her hand moved along his good arm. He reached up with his sprained wrist, resting his hand over hers as their eyes slid closed.

Taking his chance he leaned forward and captured her lips with his in a sweet, gentle kiss. Before either one of them could make any sort of move, however, Rowen pulled back. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that," He murmured. Serena looked at him as she rested her hands on his knees.

"I'm glad you did," she answered.

This time, Serena leaned forward and this time she kissed him. Rowen kissed her back, his hand resting on the back of her neck. Pulling away again, he rested his forehead against hers as they were trying to catch their breaths. "You have a boyfriend," he murmured as he stood up. Grabbing the wrist brace that she had brought in, he winced as he slid it over his twisted wrist before fastening it securely. "I have to go," he murmured as he grabbed his shirt, pulling it back on.

"Where will you go?" she asked.

"I'll be alright," he replied as he slipped out her window.

"No, don't go," she insisted as she rushed over to the window.

She rested her hands over his as he just hung on the windowsill. "I can't stay," he whispered.

"But why?" she asked.

"You have a boyfriend, the last thing I'm going to do is be the reason you're unhappy," he answered.

"You make me happy, he makes me unhappy," she insisted with tears in her eyes.

She held onto his hands tightly. "Rowen, please don't go" she begged softly.

"I have to," he replied, "If I don't, not only will I ruin your relationship, but my dad will use you against me."

He let her hands go and jumped down from her window before disappearing into the night. "ROWEN!" she called out. With no answer, she reluctantly closed her window and went back into her room.

Rowen had heard her call for him and he slowly slid to the ground, resting his forehead against his knees. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he felt something fall beside him and he lifted his head up, looking to his let he saw a dark blue marble sitting next to him. "What's that?" he muttered as he picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand. His eyes grew wide as the marble began to glow and hovered in front of him.

"_Rowen, even years later you sacrifice your own happiness to keep others happy. Still as honorable as you had been all those years ago. You are the last missing piece to be able to protect the galaxy from any dangers and to find your own happiness after living in nothing but a nightmare. Rowen, the Strata armor is yours once more_," a voice told him.

Rowen lifted his head. "Who's there?" he called, standing up. He looked down at himself and he saw that armor covered his body. The teenager's eyes grew wide, it was the mystical armor he had been searching for! As he lifted his arm, he stared at the armor in complete wonder when his head started to ache. He groaned, pressing his hand to his forehead, removing his helmet to try to get the pain to go away but it gradually got worse. "What's happening to me?" he muttered as he collapsed to his knees.

**(Flash)**

**_ Rowen saw himself as a young child over a thousand years ago hiding in the woods terrified, there were bruises on his little face and arms when a man stood in front of him. "Who are you?" the little boy asked terrified._**

**_"Do not be afraid, Touma. I am going to take care of you," the man assured the young boy._**

**_"My dad's going to find you and then I'm going to be in big trouble for talking to strangers," he answered fearfully._**

**_ The man shook his head slowly. "Your father won't hurt you anymore," the man insisted lightly. He held his hand out to the boy. "Come with me, and you will have a life filled with adventures," he added. The little boy looked at his hand, then at his cabin where he and his father were living before looking back at this man. He nodded his head slowly, but then the man crouched down, picking the injured boy up into his arms and carried him away._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Rowen saw himself at 12, grinning as he and Ryo were practicing their fight moves in a courtyard. "Too slow, Touma!" Ryo called out._**

**_"You cheat!" Touma answered as he chased his friend._**

**_"How do I cheat?" Ryo asked._**

**_ He jumped over Touma's head, landing behind him when Touma grabbed his bow from his back, blocking Ryo's wooden katana that almost struck his head. He kicked out with his foot when Ryo jumped back, then tried to do a sweep kick, but Touma jumped over his leg, aiming another punch at his head. Blocking the attack easily, the two boys aimed their weapons at each other when they were easily locked together. The friends just smirked at each other before Ryo shoved him back, aiming his katana at his middle._**

**_ Touma jumped back, aiming one of his fake arrows at Ryo's neck who ducked out of the way. Touma let out a shout as he jumped up, aiming a kick at his friend's chest when the other boy blocked the attack. After a long duel between the two, they just started laughing. "Draw again my friend," Ryo commented._**

**_"Always," Touma answered as the two friends rushed over to the mess hall when the bell was run for dinner._**

**(Flash)**

**_ Rowen saw himself standing in the middle of a room, holding a golden bow. His eyes were wide in wonder as he held the weapon out in front of him. "Touma, you have been chosen to bear the armor of Strata. You carry the virtue of Life Force," the man told him. Touma just smiled as he held the bow out in front of him, having strung an arrow up into it. He let it go and it embedded itself in the middle of the target._**

**(Flash)**

**_ The image changed to a large garden with his friends, there were a group of girls in front of them. Yet his eyes were only for Serena. Her name wasn't Serena though, it was something else. What was it? He couldn't remember, what was her name? "I am Princess Serenity," she said softly. He bowed lowly to her, he had never seen a woman so beautiful._**

**_"The stories I have heard of you do not do you justice, milady," he answered._**

**(Flash)**

**_ He saw himself lying in Serena's arms, it was hard to breathe. Why wasn't he in his armor? He could hear evil laughter surrounding them as he was lying in her arms. He stared up at her as she sobbed above him. "Touma, you're not supposed to leave me yet! We're supposed to grow old together_****," _she said sobbing as darkness claimed him._**

**(End Flash)**

Rowen let out a gasp as he stared at the marble lying in front of him on the ground. "I remember! Serenity, my love, I remember!" he exclaimed. His ribs were throbbing, he wrapped his arm around his front, groaning. "I remember!" he gasped out as he pulled himself to his feet.

Rushing back to Serena's house, he climbed back up to her window and knocked on it. Serena rushed over to the window, opening it. A smile appeared on her face. "You came back," she whispered. His answer was leaning forward and kissing her deeply. Pulling back, he rested his forehead against hers.

"I'm in love with you, Serena," he whispered.

Serena smiled as she rested her hand on his cheek. "I'm in love with you, Rowen," she whispered back. Rowen smiled before they leaned in to kiss again.


	9. When things Change

Chapter 9: When Everything Changes

Serena woke up with a scream. "I'M LATE AGAIN!" she shouted. She got up and started racing around her bedroom, throwing on her school uniform. "MOM! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME?!" she shouted.

"I did, you told me you were up," her mother answered.

"And you believed me?!" Serena exclaimed.

Serena grabbed her lunch off the table, pulling on her shoes. "BYE, MOM!" she shouted as she dashed out the door.

The young woman yawned as she walked down the street. "I just wish I could get a little more sleep, why doesn't school start at a more decent time?" Serena asked yawning. She suddenly heard kids laughing.

"Hey, hold it still I wanna feel its tongue!" a kid exclaimed.

She looked over to see a bunch of boys torturing a poor little cat. "HEY!' she shouted. The boys looked up and took off running. "Leave that cat alone!' she snapped as she ran them off. She saw the terrified black cat curled up in a ball on the ground. "Were those kids hurting you?" she asked as she picked the cat up and it started freaking out, "It's okay, they're gone now." She saw a big bandage sitting in the middle of its forehead. "Let's take this bandage off huh?" she asked. Removing the bandage, she let out a gasp. "Is that a crescent moon?!" she exclaimed.

The cat suddenly jumped out of Serena's arms, bounced off her head, and landed on a car staring at her. "Uh…okay…I gotta go now kitty," She told the cat as she got up and took off running to school.

Everyone else was standing out in front of the school waiting for Serena. "Where is she?" Lita asked as she leaned back against Sage.

"You know Serena, she's probably just waking up," Rowen answered with a slight smirk.

"You got quite a girlfriend there, Rowen," Kento commented before stuffing a doughnut into his mouth.

Rowen raised his brow when Serena raced up the block. "I'M HERE!" she shouted.

"Always fashionably late," Rei commented, rolling her eyes.

As Serena reached them, she let out a shriek when she tripped over the last step, but Rowen acted quickly, catching her. "You know how to make an entrance," he quipped, making her blush as he set her back up on her feet just as the warning bell ran off.

"Hey, Ro, you studied for that chemistry test right?" Kento asked.

"I'm not sitting next to you so you can copy my answers, Kento," Rowen replied.

"Aw come on man, I had a late night," Kento insisted as they walked through the halls.

"And that was?" Rowen asked.

Kento cleared his throat. "Not important, come on man help a friend out," he insisted.

"I'm not letting you copy my answers," Rowen answered.

They stopped in the hall and Rowen pressed a kiss to Serena's cheek. "I'll see you later," he told her.

"Bye," she answered as she watched him rush off to his class with Kento chasing him.

School was boring, as usual as she just sat in her classroom listening to her teacher prattle on about information she didn't think would be useful. Instead, she was doodling in her notebook, her mind going off in a daydream.

_A garden, a large garden filled with beautiful flowers. She was sitting in the field, smiling as she was enjoying her time alone when someone stood beside her. She looked up and a flower was held out to her. A yellow rose. "A flower for a princess," a deep, familiar voice told her. _

_"It's beautiful," she answered, "But we don't have these flowers here."_

_"I know, I returned to Earth to retrieve it," the person answered._

_"Oh, Touma, how sweet," she said smiling._

Suddenly Serena was jolted out of her daydream. "Touma? Who's Touma?" her friend, Molly, asked. Serena's cheeks flushed pink when she realized she had said his name out loud.

"No one," she replied.

"Hey! Serena, are you and Rowen having troubles?" Melvin asked.

Serena looked at the nerd of the class, Melvin, who had a huge crush on her and Molly. "In your dreams, Melvin, we're fine," Serena answered, "In fact, we're going to our favorite place after school today." Serena just beamed at the idea of spending time with Rowen.

"I think your plans are going to run short, Serena," the teacher said suddenly, making the teenager look up.

"Huh?" she asked.

The teacher slapped a test down on her desk. "There's no reason why you failed this test, Serena," she scolded the girl, "Maybe if you spent more time studying than thinking about boys you'd pass my class." Serena looked at the test with wide eyes. She received a 30% on her test.

"My mom's going to kill me!" she gasped.

"Hey, Serena, did you want me to help tutor you or something? I only got a 95% and I didn't even study, my parents are going to kill me," Melvin commented.

"I have a boyfriend who can help me, Melvin," she answered, "He's going to have to if I'm going to keep myself from flunking out."

Serena gave him a small smile before she got up and rushed out of the classroom when the bell rang.

Rowen was walking down the hall to his next class when his girlfriend crashed into him. "WHOA!" he shouted as they both flew into the nearest wall.

"Ouch, that one looked like it hurt," Kento commented when Mina rolled her eyes and swatted him on the back of the head, "Ow!"

"You okay?" Rowen asked Serena.

"Yeah," she replied, "My mom's going to kill me!"

"Why?" Rowen asked.

She showed him the test and Rowen stared at it. "Why didn't you tell me you had a test?" he asked.

"I didn't want to spend most of our time studying," she pouted.

Rowen rolled his eyes as Ryo walked over and helped him stand up. Turning around, Rowen pulled his girlfriend to her feet and she gave him a soft smile. "You do know this means we're going to the library and actually studying today right?" he asked. Serena pouted and he just chuckled as his arm went around her shoulders.

After school that day, the young couple walked down the street hand in hand. "When's your next test?" he asked.

"Friday," she replied, "Can't we do anything fun?"

"Well let's put it this way, if you fail Friday's test your mom's going to start limiting the time you get with me," he pointed out.

Serena's eyes grew wide at the idea of being separated from her boyfriend. "Then let's go," she told him, gripping his hand as they rushed off to the library.

After dropping Serena off at home later that evening, Rowen went to the mall to get his girlfriend a birthday present. He had been saving up money that he made at the part-time job he held every weekend. With it being her birthday he wanted to give her something special.

Walking into the jewelry store, his eyes were wide when he saw that women were going crazy over the jewelry. "Everything is 90% off! Come on ladies this is your chance getting diamonds, sapphires, and rubies!" Molly's mother exclaimed into a bullhorn.

She looked at Rowen and a huge smile appeared on his face. "Rowen! Hello, dear boy how are you?" she asked excitedly. Rowen bowed to her with a smile.

"Good afternoon, I wanted to pick up the locket I was having engraved for Serena?" he asked.

"Oh sweetie you don't want some silly, old locket. Wouldn't you rather get something more valuable?" she asked anxiously.

She tried to shove a box of rings and necklaces into the teenager's face. "Thanks, but no thanks. Just the locket please," he insisted. Molly's mother looked irritated as she grabbed a box that was behind her and practically shoved it at him.

"One locket," she muttered.

Opening the box, Rowen smiled at the outcome of the engraving. Their initials were engraved into the front of it and on the inside it read:

_My love for you is as endless as the stars in the night sky._

Smiling, he went to leave when he realized something was off. Looking around, he saw that many of the women who were so full of energy when he first walked into the jewelry store were acting as if they were going to pass out any minute. In fact…several women were lying unconscious on the floor. Suddenly, he felt it as if something kicked him in the gut. "Is something wrong, Rowen?" Molly's mother asked.

"Uh, nothing, thanks again," he replied as he left the store.

Walking out of the mall, he couldn't help but feel that something was horribly wrong. "_Rowen, you must go bac. The Negaverse is attacking the city, out to steal everyone's energy for the evil Queen Beryl_," the ghostly voice told him. Rowen frowned, glancing over his shoulder.

"Ancient One, I haven't fought anyone in this lifetime," Rowen murmured.

"_Your Armor of Strata will guide you as long as you keep to your virtue, you will be able to defeat this minion,"_ The Ancient One advised.

Rowen reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his armor orb. "LIFE!" he called out as he tossed it in the air, then leapt into the air after it, "ARMOR OF STRATA!" His sub armor appeared on his body and the teenage ran back into the mall.

Running back into the jewelry store, he saw that everyone had lost consciousness and the minion had transformed into its real form, wrapping its hands around Molly's throat. "HEY!" Rowen called out, "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?!" The minion looked up and a smirk appeared on her face.

"Back again boy?" she said laughing.

She sent lightning at him which he jumped over it and she was suddenly in front of him. He kicked her in the stomach when she grabbed his arm and threw him across the room. Letting out a shout, he landed on his feet, glaring at her. "Alright, you asked for it," he told her. He stood up from the ground. "ARMOR OF STRATA! TAO INOCHI!" he shouted. His armor appeared on his body, and he grabbed his bow, blocking an attack aimed at his head again.

Rowen whipped out an arrow from his quiver, aiming it at her. Several arrows flew by her as she dodged every single of them. The last arrow, he fired, however, embedded itself into her leg. She let out a scream, falling on the floor. She got ready to fire more energy lightning at him. "Hold it right there ugly!" a voice called out making them both look up, "You better give back these people's energies! I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice! I protect the world from all evil and that means you!"

Rowen's eyes were wide when he saw who was standing there. "S—Serena?" he said in disbelief. Sailor Moon's eyes went wide when she saw Rowen there.

"Rowen?" she asked seeing her boyfriend there.

"Alright, then take this little girl!" the minion snapped, firing energy lightning at her.

Sailor Moon screamed trying to dodge the attacks. Rowen let out a shout as he jumped up, landing in front of her and blocked the lightning with his energy sphere that surrounded them both. "Luna, what do we do?" she asked the black cat next to them.

"Use your tiara, Sailor Moon, hurry before he runs out of power," Luna answered.

The minion let off her lightning and Sailor Moon removed the tiara on her forehead. "Together," Rowen told her. Sailor Moon nodded as he strung an arrow up into his quiver.

"MOON!" she shouted.

"ARROW!" Rowen shouted.

"TIARA!"

"SHOCK!"

"MAGIC!"

"WAVE!"

The minion screamed as the arrow and the tiara pierced through her as if she were nothing. Rowen swung around, covering Serena with his body as the minion exploded. Once it was over, Rowen looked at his girlfriend in shock. "You're a Sailor Scout?" he asked.

"And you're a warrior?" she asked.

"Well…this changes things," he commented.

"Yea, no kidding," she answered before she hugged him.

Rowen hugged her back and looked at the cat with a smirk. "Hey Luna," he mouthed to the cat, who's eyes grew wide. He remembered!


	10. The Power of Water

Chapter 10: Power of Water

Ami was sitting off on the side of the city pool watching as her boyfriend was practicing laps, swimming back and forth. She had her knees drawn up to her chest with a small smile on her face when he surfaced and rested his arms up on the wall. "Why don't you come in? Water feels great today," he commented.

"Me? Oh no, I don't feel like swimming today," she replied, flushing.

Cye gave her a small smirk when she suddenly looked at her watch. "Oh no! I have to go!" she exclaimed as she got up.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he got out of the pool.

"I'm going to be late for my computer class," she replied.

Cye watched as she grabbed her backpack then she rushed over. "I'll see you later," she told him, kissing him and then running off. Cye watched her go with a slight smirk. His girlfriend sure did love school.

When he arrived home, Cye hung up his jacket then removed his shoes as the phone rang. Walking over, he leaned against the wall as he answered it. "Mizuno residence," he said into the phone.

"Yo, Cye, what are you doing man?" Kento asked.

"Just got home, what's up?" Cye asked as he went into the kitchen to get himself something to eat.

"Hey, we're all heading out for pizza wanna join us?" Kento asked.

Cye looked at the clock on the wall. "Sure, why not?" he answered, "See you at your place?"

"Perfect!" Kento exclaimed.

"I'll be there in twenty," Cye answered

Hanging up, Cye grabbed his jacket and went to pull his shoes back when he suddenly felt like something was off. Walking through the house, he found the computer disk that Ami used for her classes. "Whoa!" he exclaimed when he picked it up. So much energy was pulsing off it, it almost made his arm throb. Putting it down, he stared at it quizzically. "Bloody hell, what is Ami doing?" he muttered.

Grabbing the disk, he quickly stuck it in his pocket, pulling his sneakers on and rushing out of the house to get to Ami's class.

As he ran around the corner, he let out a shout when he ran into someone. "Ow!" Serena whimpered, rubbing her head.

"Oh bloody hell! Serena, are you okay?" Cye asked as he stood up, holding his hand out to her.

"Yeah, I just didn't know my head could bounce like that," she replied as she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

She rubbed her head as she looked at him. "What are you in a hurry for anyways?" she asked.

"I have to go meet with Ami, she left something at home," he replied before running around the corner.

Serena watched him go, furrowing her brow when she looked down to see a computer disk on the ground. "Looks like this is what he was going to take to Ami," Serena commented as she picked the disk up.

"Careful, Serena! That disk has a lot of bad energy coming off it," Luna told her.

Serena looked at her cat curiously. "What? You think Cye and Ami are part of the Negaverse or something? Don't be silly, Luna," she insisted.

"Let's just go see what's on it," Luna answered.

"But I was supposed to meet with Rowen," Serena said with a pout.

The cat just rolled her eyes. "Could you for once stop thinking about your boyfriend for two minutes?" she demanded. Serena sighed as she walked over to the nearest computer store to see what was on the disk.

Cye arrived at the school, letting out a deep breath. "Finally, I made it," he murmured as he went into the school.

Finding Ami's class, he saw that the teacher wasn't in yet and walked into the classroom. "Ami," he called to her. Ami looked up with a gasp.

"Cye! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You left your disk at home," he replied.

He reached into his pocket to get it when he realized he didn't have it with him. "Oh blast it…" he muttered, "I must've dropped it when I ran into Serena."

"Cye, you can't be in here," she whispered.

"Is there a problem here?" a voice asked, making Cye freeze.

"Uh no, no there's no problem here," Ami replied

Cye looked at the teacher, frowning a little. "Unless you're a student here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the teacher told him.

"Sorry," he answered

He looked at Ami, giving her a small smile. "I'll see you later, love," he added.

"Bye," she said softly as she watched him leave.

As Cye stepped out in the hall he felt like something was terribly wrong. Frowning, he looked over his shoulder to see Ami getting ready to lead the class for the night. The teacher turned to look at him and his heart sunk in his stomach. She was a minion from the Negaverse. She made her way out of the classroom, glaring at the teen. "I thought I told you to leave?" she demanded.

"I would but I think I'll stick around and see what you're planning to do with these people," Cye replied.

Realizing she had been found out, she closed the door to her classroom and she kicked Cye so hard that it sent the unsuspecting young man back into a wall. Groaning loudly in pain, he rolled to his feet when she aimed another blow to his head. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his armor orb. "Trust!" he called out.

Tossing it into the air, he let out a shout as he leapt through the air and his sub armor appeared on his body. The minion let out a hiss. "A Ronin Warrior! You're supposed to be dead," she hissed.

"We were given life once more," Cye answered, "Just to stop the evil things like you!"

She threw a whip at him, but Cye rolled out of the way jumping to his feet as she ran at him full force, throwing him out a window. The glass shattered everywhere as he fell to the ground below and the minion leapt through the window after him. "Cye!" he heard someone call. He looked up to see Rowen and Serena running up to him.

"Wait! Cye's like you too?" Serena asked in disbelief.

"You okay man?" Rowen asked as he pulled his friend to his feet.

"She can pack a punch," Cye replied, holding his ribs.

The minion let out a hiss as she threw her whip at the three of them. Serena let out a scream, rushing out of the way. "Serena, transform we need your help over here!" Rowen called out, "ARMOR OF STRATA! TAO INOCHI!"

"ARMOR OF TORRENT! DAO SHIN!" Cye shouted.

"Right," Serena agreed.

She let out a deep breath as she held her hand up. "MOON PRISM POWER!" she shouted. Just as they finished transforming, the minion had disappeared back inside and started draining people of their energy.

The three of them ran back towards the now captured school, running to Ami's classroom. "AMI!" Cye shouted for his girlfriend. Running into the room, he saw the minion pressing Ami's head into the computer screen. "NO!" he shouted. He let out a shout as he leapt through the air, swinging his trident like spear at the minion's head.

The minion let out a hiss and swung her whip at the three of them when Sailor Moon jumped back with a small shriek. "Sailor Moon!" Rowen called out. He held his hand out to her. She gripped his hand as he swung her around and she flew at the minion, kicking her right in the face. While she was distracted, Rowen pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it at her. The minion screamed in pain as the arrow went through her shoulder. Cye went to stab his spear into her stomach when she grabbed the Warrior of Torrent by the throat.

"CYE!" Sailor Moon shouted, "MOON TIARA…"

Before she could finish her attack, the minion swung her whip, sending both Sailor Moon and Rowen backwards. Their weapons were far out of their reach. "AMI!" Luna shouted at the girl, she flipped through the air and a wand landed in front of her.

"You can talk?!" Ami said with wide eyes.

"Quickly, we don't have much time. Pick up the wand and shout "Mercury Power"," Luna insisted.

Ami held the wand in her hand and saw that Cye was losing his energy. "MERCURY POWER!" she shouted.

Cye watched with wide eyes as his girlfriend transformed into Sailor Mercury right before his very eyes. She glared at the minion. "You let him go!" she snapped, making the Minion look up.

"You?! It can't be!" the minion shrieked.

Sailor Mercury ran over, letting out a shout as she leapt over and kicked her wrist and she let Cye go. He dropped down to one knee, gaining whatever energy he had lost back. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, she packs a punch," he answered as they stood up.

She handed him his spear. "Together," he told her and she nodded her head in agreement. She held her wrists up in front of her in an 'X' and bubbles formed around her wrists. Cye held his spear up and water formed around the tip.

"MERCURY!" she shouted.

"SUPER!" he shouted.

"BUBBLES!"

"WAVE!"

"BLAST!"

"SMASHER!"

The minion screamed as she was struck with both blasts. "Your turn you guys!" Cye called out through the fog of bubbles.

"Right," Rowen answered.

Rowen grabbed his bow off the floor, stringing up an arrow as Sailor Moon removed her tiara from her forehead. "MOON!" she shouted.

"ARROW!" Rowen shouted.

"TIARA!"

"SHOCK!"

"MAGIC!"

"WAVE!"

The minion screamed in horror as the tiara and arrow sliced right through her and she was nothing but a pile of dust on the floor. Sailor Mercury looked at the three of them. "All three of you?" she said in disbelief.

"Yeah, we're getting used to it too," Cye answered with a smirk.

"Wow, Ami, you're Sailor Mercury! How cool!" Sailor Moon said beaming, "I'm not the only girl now."

Sailor Mercury blushed as Cye held her close to him. "We need to get out of here before we draw attention," Rowen commented as he and Cye shed their armor.

"Right," Sailor Moon agreed before she and Mercury went back to their civilian forms.

Cye held his girlfriend's hand as they escaped the university.

When they arrived home, they saw that Ami's mom was home but the lights were off so they knew she was in bed. The two of them snuck inside, removing their shoes before they made their way up the stairs

Reaching her room, Cye gave her a soft smile as he cupped her cheek in his hand. "Goodnight, Sailor Mercury," he whispered. Reaching up, she rested her hand over his.

"Goodnight, Cye of the Torrent," she answered.

Chuckling softly, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly, both of their cheeks flushing red. Pulling away, he gave her as oft smile before he went to his room.

Ami went into her room, closing the door behind her as she leaned against it. He made her heart flutter in her chest like a hummingbird's wings. She couldn't stop thinking about him, since the moment they had met there was something familiar about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Flushing, she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She closed her eyes and her mind drifted off into dreamland.

Across the hall, Cye was lying awake in his bed staring at the ceiling. He was disappointed that she didn't remember their past lives together. Rowen had warned him with the fact that Serena had no recollection of their past lives together either, but both of them knew that the girls would remember. They just weren't sure when. Sighing, he turned on his side as he drifted off into a restless sleep.


	11. The Power of Fire

Chapter 11: The Power of Fire

Ryo was in the courtyard, practicing his katana moves. The sweat was pouring down his face and his torso glistened in the sunlight from the sweat covering his torso. White Blaze was lying off to the side, watching him closely. If someone were to look at the tiger, they could swear that he was grinning at the young man practicing his fight moves.

Rei was sweeping the temple floors when she saw Ryo practicing. A small smirk appeared on her face as she leaned against the rail and watched him. Ever since the fire, it was as if he had changed. He would practice his forms and katana moves before, but ever since that night he took his practicing seriously.

Making her way down the stairs, she grabbed a katana off the wall. Ryo swung around with a shout when their katanas clashed together. She smirked at him and Ryo smiled back. "You've been practicing for over an hour, think it's time to call it quits for the day?" she asked with a smile.

"Think so?" he answered as he put their weapons up.

Rei felt her cheeks flushed as she watched the muscles in his back and shoulders flex as he was putting their weapons away. He turned around, his arms going around her waist and pulled her close. She let out a gasp and just smirked at him. "You're getting my robes sweaty," she told him as she lightly pushed him.

"No one's keeping you here," he quipped.

She smirked a little as he leaned forward and kissed her lightly. Rei kissed him back, her arms moving up and around his neck. Suddenly, White Blaze stood up with a growl. "What is it, Blaze?" Ryo asked. They heard cop cars approaching the temple, making Ryo frown as he grabbed his discarded shirt, pulling it on.

Walking to the front of the temple, he saw three officers approaching. "Can I help you this morning, officers?" he asked.

"Are you in charge of this temple, boy?" the officer asked.

"No sir, that would be my guardian, Master Hino," Ryo replied.

The two teenagers saw one of the officers taken an interest in White Blaze, who was standing behind Ryo. "Do you have the correct licenses to own that animal?" he asked.

"Yes we do officers, we most certainly have the licenses to have White Blaze here," Master Hino answered as he stood in front of Ryo and Rei, "What can I do for you this morning?"

"Master Hino, have you been aware that two city buses have disappeared from in front of your temple the last few days?" the first officer asked.

"I am well aware, such a tragedy really," Master Hino replied sadly.

Ryo wrapped his arm around Rei's waist, pulling her a little closer to him. The officers continued to ask the temple master questions about the disappearances before they finally left. "I don't like this," Ryo said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

"Something's up, how can two buses disappear into thin air?" Ryo asked.

Rei leaned against her boyfriend, frowning and also curious to how all of this happened.

Later on, Ryo was doing his chore when he saw the new worker, Jed, handing out charms to people who had heard they were good luck. Frowning, he looked over at Rei to see her entering her meditation room. "How would you like a charm, Ryo?" Jed asked from behind, making the teenager turn around

"No thanks, I make my own luck," Ryo replied.

Jed stared at the young man as he walked away. "Come on, Blaze," he called to his tiger. White Blaze was about to walk away when he stopped and growled at the man. "White Blaze, come on boy," Ryo called to him. The white tiger seemed to glare before he turn and walked away.

After finishing his chores, Ryo saw Serena, Ami, and their friend Molly walking up to the temple. It was obvious that Master Hino had thought they were someone else the way he was talking to them. "Grandpa, why don't you ever wear your glasses?" Rei demanded.

"Because I don't need them," Master Hino replied.

Ryo just chuckled lightly. "Master Hino, it's Serena and Ami," he told the old man.

"What?" the old man asked confused

Ryo just smirked, shaking his head slowly when he saw his girlfriend's frown turn into a scowl. "There are evil forces at work around here," she said suddenly.

"What?" he asked.

Rei looked around, she could feel an evil presence at the temple. Ryo looked over at their new caretaker, Jed, to see him talking to the girls. He gripped Rei's hand, making her stop. "What?" she asked.

"I have my suspicions, but we have to wait," he replied.

"People are thinking our home is dangerous, Ryo," Rei told him angrily.

"I know, but we don't want to cause a scene, the real perpetrator might be watching," he answered.

Rei gripped his hand tightly, letting out a deep breath as she looked over at Serena. "Hey you guys," Rowen called out as he and Cye walked up the hill, "Good thing we ran into Molly, we were looking all over for you."

"Sorry, we were coming for some good luck charms," Serena commented.

Rowen's arms immediately went around Serena's waist. "How much luck do you need?" he asked softly with a smirk, making her lean back into his chest.

"So how are things going around here?" Ami asked, looking at Ryo and Rei.

"Weird, with all these people disappearing the cops keep wanting to come up here and investigate. They want to see if we have anything to do with it," Rei replied as Ryo wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Why would they suspect you guys?" Cye asked, "You guys don't do anything."

"It's the fact that the buses keep disappearing from in front of our temple," Rei replied

Ryo let out a sigh. "I think they have come up to the door about four times today alone to ask questions," he told his friends. Rowen held his girlfriend's hand, looking down at her as she looked up at him.

"I think we should investigate," he answered.

They nodded in agreement. "We'll hang back here, I'm starting to feel the dark force Rei's talking about," Ryo told them.

"Alright," Cye answered, taking Ami's hand as they were leaving the temple.

They made their way away from the temple, Rowen let Serena's hand go and his arm went around her waist. "Hey, Rowen, Serena, we're going to have a study night at our house, do you want to come?" Ami asked.

"Uh…" Serena started to say.

"I gotta get home you guys, but thanks," Rowen replied.

"Your dad again?" Cye asked

The Warrior of Strata gave the Warrior of Torrent a sharp glare. Serena frowned, resting her hand on his chest "Rowen…" she murmured.

"Let's just go, please?" he asked as he took Serena's hand and walked over to the bus stop.

They waited by the bus stop when Rowen noticed something. All the girls standing in line were wearing the charms being sold at the temple. "Hey, Rowen, what's up?" Cye asked.

"Look, all these people are lethargic," Rowen replied, "They look like they're about to drop."

Ami saw the girls and let out a soft gasp. "You're right!" she agreed. Cye looked at the bus, his eyes growing wide.

"You girls need to stay here," he said suddenly.

"What are you going to do?" Ami asked.

Cye and Rowen pushed the girls back as they shoved their girlfriends back. "CYE!" Ami called out with wide eyes.

"ROWEN WAIT!" Serena shouted.

Rowen and Cye ran onto the bus. "Alright, buddy, your ride ends here!" Cye told the driver.

"Have a seat," the driver said cackling as he closed the door.

"No way, whoever you are this is over," Rowen answered as he grabbed the driver' shoulder

Cye's eyes grew wide when Rowen was thrown to the back of the bus. "ROWEN!" he shouted as the bus lifted off the ground.

Serena and Ami gasped. "Girls, you have to go after it!" Luna told the girls.

"CYE!" Ami shouted, chasing the bus.

Serena got up off the ground. "COME BACK!" she shouted at the bus as it disappeared through a black hole.

"NO!" Ami shouted with tears in her eyes.

"This can't be happening!" Serena said with a sob as she dropped to her knees, "ROWEN!"

"Serena, you got to pull yourself together and find Ryo," Luna scolded her.

"Right," Serena answered.

She pulled herself up off the ground, running towards the temple.

Ryo was staring at Jed when Serena ran into the temple. "RYO!" Serena shouted, "RYO! The bus disappeared with Rowen and Cye on it!"

'What?" Ryo asked with wide eyes.

"They shoved us away before we could get on the bus and they were taken into a big, black hole," Ami explained.

Ryo ran out of the temple with Rei. They could see the large black hole and Ryo saw a wand lying on the ground. "What's that?" he asked. Rei reached down, picking the wand up from the ground.

"Rei, you have to shout "Mars Power"," Luna told her.

"You talk?!" Rei exclaimed.

"We have to hurry," Ryo answered.

He tossed his orb into the air. "ARMOR OF WILDFIRE!" he shouted as his sub armor appeared on his body.

"MARS POWER!" Rei shouted when she saw her boyfriend transform.

They both ran after a bus with Serena right behind them. "MOON PRISM POWER!" she shouted. They ran onto the bus.

"Alright, this bus isn't going anywhere!" Ryo snapped.

The minion sneered at the three teenagers on the bus. "Stupid brats!" she spat.

"REI!" Ryo shouted, covering his girlfriend as the minion threw a bolt of electricity at them.

Rei gasped when Ryo suddenly fell to his knees groaning in pain. "Ryo!" she exclaimed as the bus started taking off.

"I'll stop her," Sailor Moon answered.

"No! If you stop her now, then Rowen and Cye will be trapped in their dimension," Ryo pointed out, holding his side.

Sailor Moon frowned, but knew he was right as they were flying into the portal. "Ryo, what is going on?!" Rei demanded.

"I'll explain later," Ryo answered, "Just trust me on this okay?"

Rei gripped his shoulder as they went through the portal. "Where's Rowen?" Sailor Moon asked with wide eyes when she saw all the buses.

"SAILOR MOON, WATCH IT!" Ryo shouted, shoving her as the minion went to attack her.

The minion grabbed Ryo around the middle, shoving him right out the back window. "RYO!" Rei shouted as she ran off the bus. The minion snarled as she tried to snap her teeth at Ryo's face.

"Take a breath mint!" he snapped before he kicked her off him, "ARMOR OF WILDFIRE! DAO JIN!"

Rei's eyes grew wide when she saw her boyfriend transform into armor. "What the heck is going on here?!" she demanded. The minion looked at her and sneered.

"Don't you touch her!" Ryo snapped as he removed his katanas from their sheaths on his back.

The minion cackled before using her lightning speed and grabbed Rei around the neck. "No!" he exclaimed. Rei winced as the minion gripped her tightly. "Let her go!" Ryo snapped.

"MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"No, don't! You could hit Rei!" Ryo called out.

Sailor Moon didn't answer instead she just threw the disc at the minion. Her distraction worked, as the minion tried to escape the disc she dropped Rei and Ryo rushed over to her. "Rei, you okay?" he asked.

"You have more than just explaining to do!" she snapped, "You've kept this from me all this time?!"

"I couldn't say anything until the time was right," he answered.

"Rei, you have to use your wand and call you "Mars Power"!" Luna insisted.

Rei looked at the wand in her hand. "I've just about had enough of this," she snapped. She stood up with the wand. "MARS POWER!" she shouted. Ryo watched with a grin as his girlfriend transformed into Sailor Mars right in front of him. Sailor Mars swung around and Ryo stood up.

"Together?" he asked.

"You know it," she replied.

Ryo smirked as he connected his katanas together before he leapt into the air. "FLARE!" he shouted.

"MARS!" Sailor Mars shouted.

"UP!"

"FIRE!"

"NOW!"

"IGNITE!"

They watched as the minion was destroyed by their powers. "SAILOR MOON!" a voice shouted.

"Rowen!" Sailor Moon gasped when she saw her boyfriend.

She rushed over, throwing her arms around him as he lifted her up and swung her around. "Ryo, are you guys okay? Where's Ami?" Cye asked as he rushed up. Rowen set her down, kissing her shoulder.

"She's back in our dimension," Sailor Moon replied.

"We need to get out of here," Rowen told them when they saw the portal closing.

"The black hole is closing!" Sailor Mars exclaimed.

Suddenly, a blue light came through and started holding the portal open. "It's Ami!" Cye gasped.

"She's using her power of Mercury to keep the portal open!" Luna exclaimed.

"Come on you guys let's go," Rowen answered as he ran onto the bus.

They followed him and they were able to get their bus and the other victims of the Negaverse were brought back home.

Sailor Mars now Rei again watched as Cye got off the bus. "AMI!" he shouted for his girlfriend.

"Cye!" Ami gasped as she stood up.

She watched as the normally shy British man lifted his girlfriend up into his arms, swinging her around as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "You know, he didn't wanna lie to you," Rowen said suddenly, making her look up.

"What?" she asked.

"Ryo, he didn't want to keep his life as a Ronin Warrior a secret from you. He wanted to tell you, but we have been told after we each received our powers to not reveal them to you girls, because you finding out our secrets too soon could be dangerous," Rowen explained.

She watched as Ryo got off one of the other buses and White Blaze rushed up to greet his master who embraced him gladly. "He loves you, Rei, and you know Ryo has a hard time trusting people let alone loving them," Rowen added. Rei frowned, knowing Rowen was right. Ryo had a hard time giving his trust. Not only that he was severely protective of her but it made her realize why he wouldn't tell her his secret. It was to keep her safe from Queen Beryl and her minions in case he was ever caught.

Ryo was scratching White Blaze's neck with a smile on his face. "Ryo?" Rei called out. He looked up and saw his girlfriend walking over to him. Before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Ryo immediately hugged her back, holding her to him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," he answered.

He looked over at Rowen and Cye, seeing that his friends knew what he was asking. No, the girls didn't remember their past lives. His heart broke a little, his Rei didn't remember their life together in the Moon Kingdom. It was only a matter of time before the girls remembered their lives and they could stop the evil Queen for good.

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the long delay of this story. I had moved and had complications after the move, but now I'm back. I hope you liked this chapter and will enjoy more that are to come.**


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